David Pinnock
David Pinnock is a Director in our Corporate & Commercial practice and Joint Sector Head for our Private Equity sector. David specialises in mergers and acquisitions and has experience in a wide range of transactional work (both public and private equity). David also has broad experience in corporate finance and other corporate and commercial work.

About David
About David
David started his career as a candidate attorney at Cliffe Dekker and Todd (now Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr) in 1997. He was appointed as an associate in 1999, senior associate in 2000 and became a director in 2001.
Credentials
Credentials
Education
- BA LLB, University of the Witwatersrand
- Year of admission as an attorney: 1999
- Registered with the Legal Practice Council
About David
David started his career as a candidate attorney at Cliffe Dekker and Todd (now Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr) in 1997. He was appointed as an associate in 1999, senior associate in 2000 and became a director in 2001.
Credentials
Education
- BA LLB, University of the Witwatersrand
- Year of admission as an attorney: 1999
- Registered with the Legal Practice Council
Experience
Vumatel
Advised the shareholders of Vumatel on the multi-billion rand disposal of Vumatel to CIVH, a subsidiary of Remgro
Sun International
Advised Sun International on its attempted R9.5 billion acquisition by Sun International of the Peermont Group. The transaction failed to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals.
Sun International
Advised Sun International on the R2.1 billion acquisition by Tsogo Sun of a 40% stake in Sun International's SunWest (Grandwest Casino) and Worcester operations and the partial exit of Grand Parade Investments Limited.
Sun International
Advised Sun International in its R663 million staggered disposal of controlling interests in its Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and Zambia hotel businesses to Minor International Public Company Limited (listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand).
IEP Group
Advised IEP Group, formerly the private equity investments business of Investec Bank, on a series of integrated transactions with Khulasande Capital and the shareholders and management of each of the Goscor Group of Companies, Concord Cranes, Prowalco, Uni-Span Holdings and Afrit to create industrial services holding group, InServe.
IEP Group
Advising IEP Group, Khulasande Capital and the shareholders and management of each of Idwala Industrial Holdings, Ferro Industrial Products. Chlor-Alkali Holdings (CAH) and CJP Chemicals, in a series of integrated transactions to create an industrial chemicals holding group, Synchem.
IEP Group
Advised IEP Group on a series of integrated transactions with the shareholders of its various portfolio companies to create the Bud Group.
IEP Group
Advised IEP Group in its multi-billion rand acquisition of Idwala Industrial Holdings, a leading South African miner and producer of industrial minerals and lime, from a private equity consortium. Idwala was vended into Synchem.
Investec Bank
Advised the private equity division of Investec Bank on various acquisitions and disposals, the bulk of the portfolio now forming the Bud Group.
News

Reconsidering pre-emptive rights clauses in the context of “package deals”
The case of Plattekloof RMS Boerdery (Pty) Ltd v Dahlia Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd (667/2021) ZASCA 182 is a recent appeal heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) involving a...

Distributions: More than meets the (i)
Section 46 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 (Act) is clear on the requirements that must be met before a company may make a distribution – a company must not make any proposed distribution...

A board’s discretion to call meetings of shareholders
Under section 61 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 (Companies Act), only the board of a company, or any other person specified in the company’s Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) or rules,...

Frustrating board meetings
Many board meetings are frustrating, for a wide variety of reasons, and especially in the world of virtual meetings. This article, however, deals with the interesting situation where...

Fraud unravels all
A fraudulent misrepresentation which induces a party to conclude a contract renders such a contract voidable at the instance of the aggrieved party. The aggrieved party may therefore...
Market recognition
- Chambers Global 2017 - 2023 ranked David Pinnock in Band 1 for Corporate/M&A: Private Equity.
- The Legal 500 EMEA 2016 - 2023 recommended David for commercial, corporate and M&A.
- Who’s Who Legal 2019 ranked David as a leading lawyer in M&A and Governance.
- Who’s Who Legal 2017 and 2018 ranked David as a leading lawyer in M&A.
- The IFLR1000 2019, 2020 and 2022 recommended David as a notable leading lawyer in M&A and Private Equity.

Market recognition
- Chambers Global 2017 - 2023 ranked David Pinnock in Band 1 for Corporate/M&A: Private Equity.
- The Legal 500 EMEA 2016 - 2023 recommended David for commercial, corporate and M&A.
- Who’s Who Legal 2019 ranked David as a leading lawyer in M&A and Governance.
- Who’s Who Legal 2017 and 2018 ranked David as a leading lawyer in M&A.
- The IFLR1000 2019, 2020 and 2022 recommended David as a notable leading lawyer in M&A and Private Equity.
Expertise

Corporate & Commercial Law
Our strong legal team is well versed in legislative matters and provides support across all commercial disciplines.

Mergers & Acquisitions
CDH’s lawyers balance legal knowledge with commercial understanding to support our clients’ best interests.

The Companies Act
CDH is well positioned to help your company ensure compliance with the legislation. We also offer training tailored to your business needs to help you meet your obligations.

Listings, Stock Exchanges & Public Documents
We act for a number of top listed companies and offer a full suite of services to public companies.

Private Equity
Experts from across our specialist practice areas advise on private equity matters.

Technology & Communications
Our team offers advice on a wide range of functions and sector-related issues.