Sahal Law Firm

In 2024 our M&A team led a confidential cross-border deal that saw a GCC drone-technology group acquire 100 % of a Riyadh-based UAV operator licensed by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

• Conducted comprehensive due diligence on Saudi drone regulations, aviation compliance, IP, data-privacy and export-control risks, positioning us as go-to drone acquisition lawyers in Saudi Arabia.
• Drafted and negotiated all share-purchase and shareholders’ agreements, securing robust risk allocation for the buyer.
• Obtained the MISA foreign-investment licence, completed the GACA permit transfer and won unconditional General Authority for Competition (GAC) clearance, showcasing our expertise in regulatory approvals for drone companies.
• Coordinated SAMA foreign-exchange approvals and an escrow structure to release the ≈ SAR 120 million consideration—closing three weeks ahead of an eight-week timetable.
• Post-closing, we advise on technology-transfer, integration and ongoing GACA compliance, with zero indemnity claims to date.

This landmark transaction—one of the first under the 2023 GACA drone framework—demonstrates Sahal Law Firm’s capability in Saudi Arabia drone M&A, aviation law and accelerated regulatory clearance.

In 2025 our dispute-resolution team acted for a confidential FMCG distributor in recovering SAR 25 million in overdue invoices from a Riyadh-based retail chain.

• Demand strategy: issued a compliant commercial demand notice under the Saudi Commercial Courts Law, triggering the 5-day statutory grace period and preserving the client’s right to recover court fees and legal costs.
• Negotiation & evidence: compiled Najiz e-invoices, bank transfers, and warehouse delivery proofs, creating an irrefutable debt ledger that met Execution Court evidentiary standards.
• Execution petition: filed an electronic application through the Ministry of Justice (Najiz) debt-collection portal, obtaining an execution order within 48 hours—demonstrating our speed in Saudi debt enforcement.
• Asset tracing: leveraged TAMM electronic liens to freeze the debtor’s corporate bank accounts and block commercial-registration renewals, increasing settlement pressure.
• Settlement & payment: negotiated a lump-sum settlement for 100 % of principal plus statutory 15 % legal expenses, with funds cleared into the client’s account within 11 weeks of engagement.

This case underscores Sahal Law Firm’s market-leading capability in commercial debt recovery in Saudi Arabia, combining strategic negotiation with swift recourse to Execution Courts and electronic asset-seizure tools to achieve full, fast recovery for our clients.

In late 2024 our regulatory team secured one of the first SAMA open-banking licences in Saudi Arabia for a confidential international fintech entering the GCC market.

• Regulatory roadmap: Delivered an end-to-end strategy covering SAMA open-banking regulations, PSD2-style requirements, data-privacy compliance, and cybersecurity standards, positioning the client as a pioneer in Saudi fintech licensing.
• Sandbox to full licence: Guided the client from the SAMA Regulatory Sandbox to permanent authorisation in under nine months—well below the 12- to 18-month market average—highlighting our strength in fast-track fintech approvals in Saudi Arabia.
• Policy drafting: Prepared robust consumer-protection, AML/CTF, and API-security policies that met both SAMA and National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) guidelines, reinforcing our expertise in open-banking legal compliance.
• Stakeholder engagement: Led weekly calls with SAMA supervisors, IT auditors, and local partner-banks, ensuring seamless alignment on open-API testing, penetration-testing reports, and escrow arrangements for source code.
• Corporate structuring: Obtained the MISA foreign-investment licence, drafted a localisation plan that exceeded Saudisation targets, and registered the entity on TAMM and GOSI—keywords relevant to setting up a fintech company in Saudi Arabia.
• Timeline & impact: Licence issued three months ahead of schedule; platform went live with the Kingdom’s first account-aggregation and payment-initiation APIs on day one. The client now processes 10 k+ API calls daily with zero compliance findings.

This landmark engagement demonstrates Sahal Law Firm’s market-leading capability in SAMA fintech licensing, open-banking law, and regulatory strategy for foreign fintechs in Saudi Arabia.