Insights
Notes on transaction execution
Written for counsel, advisers and transaction principals. Every article carries its publication date, because a note on UAE regulation ages faster than most things.
Items marked as archive were published between 2021 and 2024 and revised in August 2026 to remove claims Titanium no longer publishes. They are retained because the underlying explanations remain useful. That analysis has not been reviewed against current law, and the legal positions it describes may have moved.
How to appoint an escrow agent in the UAE
What an escrow agent does, when you need one, who is permitted to hold client money in ADGM, the DIFC, onshore UAE and the UK, and how to check a provider.
Escrow and W&I insurance in Middle East M&A
What a warranty and indemnity policy leaves outside it, and what the SRS Acquiom study records about insured deals that still open a separate escrow.
Escrow agent due diligence: five questions for transaction counsel
A cross-border checklist covering authority, client money segregation, release mechanics, onboarding and documentation before an escrow agent is appointed.
Escrow in restructurings: deposits, sale proceeds and implementation funds
Where money sits between agreement and implementation of a restructuring: standstill deposits, distressed-sale proceeds and implementation funds.
Drafting objective and mechanical escrow release conditions
Release conditions an escrow agent can apply mechanically, the formulations that fail, and what a well-drafted agreement says about conflicting instructions.
M&A holdbacks, earn-outs and deferred consideration
Three structures that leave part of the price unpaid at completion, what each secures, and how to draft a release condition an agent can apply.
Paying agency for multi-seller transactions
A shareholder distribution to a large seller register is a project, not an administrative step. What it covers, and what stays with the parties.
Escrow for settlement agreements: funding, release and the order of signatures
How settlement funds are held in escrow, the release triggers that work for a settlement, and what the documents should say if the settlement collapses.
Subscription monies, capital calls and SPV accounts
Why investor monies sit with an independent holder before a closing, and what the documents should say about release, return and the contributor base.
How funds leave an escrow account: instructions, verification and payment security
What a valid instruction is, what is checked before funds move, and how documented instruction controls reduce payment-redirection risk.
Streamlining M&A transactions: how escrow agents help
What an escrow agent does on a cross-border M&A transaction in the UAE, and the four points in a deal where escrow is most often used.
What to confirm before using a custody account in the UAE
The authority, documentation, release mechanics and onboarding questions to settle before using a custody account in the UAE.
The new UAE competition law: what does it mean for M&A?
Federal Law No. 36 of 2023 expanded scope, narrowed exemptions and rebuilt the UAE merger review process. What that meant for deal timetables.
Escrow in the UAE: what it is and what you need to know
A plain explanation of what an escrow arrangement is, where it came from in the UAE, and when a transaction benefits from one.