Firas Malhas
Mr. Malhas is a Partner and Head of Litigation Department at the International Business Legal Associates (IBLAW). He is licensed by the Jordan Bar Association to represent clients before all courts of Jordan and arbitration tribunals.
He focuses his practice of law on corporate matters and arbitration. He has extensive experience in corporate and commercial matters where he advises clients on a wide range of corporate matters including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing, and general corporate matters in a broad range of industries such as drafting, reviewing and advising on various commercial contracts.
Mr. Malhas has handled many multi-million dollar transactions whereby he participated in comprehensive legal advice, conducted due diligence, drafted all the related documents and agreements for mergers and acquisitions and project finance. In 2007, the author was part of the team that advised Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc, the multinational pharmaceuticals group, on its acquisition of Arab Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Company (APM) for a total cash consideration of $163.6 million.
Mr. Malhas was part of the team that advised the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) on the 'Development of Institutional and Operating Arrangements for the Jordan Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Fund (JREEEF)'. He also advised the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) on several subjects including licensing, dispute resolution with licensees, and competition safeguards. He was part of the team that advised the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology on several subjects including the e-government project and the National Information Technology Centre (NITC).
Prior to joining IBLAW, Mr. Malhas was deputy of the head of legal department of Munir Sukhtian Group, a diversified manufacturing, trading, marketing, distribution, service, and contracting company headquartered in Amman, Jordan.
Publications
- Foreign Investment Regime in Jordan
- Economic Concentration ' Jordanian Competition Law
- Foreign Investment Regime in Jordan ' Limited and Restricted Sectors
- Challenges that might face the Constitutional Court (Arabic)
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Education
- LL.B. - University of Jordan, Amman Jordan
- LL.M. - International Commercial Law, School of Law, University of Birmingham, UK
1 Contributions by Firas Malhas
PRACTICE NOTES
Jordan merger control: 2023 amendments and 2025 draft law—new revenue thresholds, dominant position benchmark, notification/suspension rules, two-phase review, penalties and sectoral regulator interplay
Prepared in collaboration with a partner at the Jordanian law firm International Business Legal Associates, this overview explores key matters on merger control in Jordan...
Note: to verify whether notification thresholds in Jordan and globally are met, please refer to Where to Notify...
1. Have there been recent developments regarding the Jordanian merger control regime and are any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in Jordan?
After the government tabled reforms in July 2022 to Competition Law No. 33 of 2004 (Original Competition Law), the package proceeded through the constitutional stages, was debated and approved by Parliament, and was subsequently ratified by His Majesty the King. The changes were enacted as Amending Law No. 12 for 2023, published in the Official Gazette on 16 April 2023 and entering into force on 16 May 2023 (Amending Law). The Original Competition Law together with the Amending Law is referred to as the Original Competition Law (as amended). From a merger control standpoint, the Amending Law adds a further circumstance in which approval from the Minister of Industry and Trade (the Minister) must be obtained before completing an economic concentration transaction...
Competition
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