Ms. Machnouk is a partner at Abou Jaoude & Associates Law Firm and lends her specialized knowledge and experience to several practice groups including Corporate Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Banking, Capital Markets, Structured Finance and Telecommunications. She advises clients on a large number of cross border transactions throughout the MENA region, the GCC and Europe and her representative experience includes transactions of first impression in the region, namely: • Advising investors, targets, financial advisers and arrangers on a wide range of corporate finance   transactions including loan facilities, syndicated financings, hybrid securities and mezzanine financing; • Representing a commercial bank in the acquisition of an equity stake in a UK based financial services    firm which core business line is carbon capital; • Counseling a telecom consortium on the acquisition of controlling equity stakes in the capital of   companies which own and operate mobile licenses throughout Africa; • Advising on the pioneer conversion of a financial company into a private bank; • Representing an investment bank in the acquisition of a real estate company for the development of a   first-of-its-kind wellness resort in the Middle East region; and • Leading a groundbreaking multi-bank private placement initiative to finance the launch of a TV station. Ms. Machnouk holds a Master in French and Lebanese Law from the St. Joseph University, Beirut, with a double major in private and public law as well as an advanced graduate degree (DEA) in Banking & Financial Markets Law from the St. Joseph University in partnership with the University of Paris II-Assas, Paris. She also obtained a Master of Laws (LLM) from Georgetown and George Washington Universities in Washington, DC. Ms. Machnouk was part of the corporate finance team of Norton Rose in Paris before joining Abou Jaoude & Associates. Ms. Machnouk is admitted to the Beirut Bar and is a member of the International Bar Association. She is fluent in Arabic, French and English.