US firm Greenberg Traurig (GT) has hired Elias Hayek from Squire Patton Boggs (SPB) to bolster its international hospitality practice. He will co-chair the firm’s Middle East and European hospitality group. The firm has yet to announce who will co-chair the practice alongside Hayek.
Hayek was previously an SPB partner and head of its global hospitality and leisure practice, based in Dubai and London, a position he held since 2017.
At GT, he will spend time in Dubai, Riyadh and London, where he represents clients in the hospitality, leisure and entertainment industries on transactions including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, hotel project leasing, and mixed-use and branded residential developments.
During his more than 30 years of practice, Hayek was involved in more than 500 transactions across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. For example, he represented a UAE government entity in a joint venture agreement with a global gaming and hospitality company to develop a multi-billion-dollar gaming resort in the region.
In addition, he advised subsidiaries of Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund on the development, subdivision and branding agreements for several multi-billion dollar “giga-project” developments. He also represented European private equity fund subsidiaries on the acquisition, development and operational agreements for multiple high-end luxury and upscale properties across Europe.
GT’s executive chairman Richard Rosenbaum said that Hayek’s hiring demonstrates the firm’s commitment to strategic growth in the Middle East and solidifies its position as a leading real estate practice in the region. He added that the move aligns with GT’s “long-term vision to deliver market-leading, pragmatic and responsive counsel to clients involved in the region’s most transformative projects”.
Khalid Al-Thebity, GT’s Middle East regional chair and managing shareholder of the firm’s Kingdom of Saudi Arabia location, added: “Elias has developed a highly successful practice advising clients on the full lifecycle of their hospitality projects and transactions worldwide.”
Before joining Square Patton Boggs in 2017, Hayek was vice-president of legal for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s Europe, Africa and Middle East division. During his 17 years at Starwood, Hayek was involved in more than 300 hotel development transactions across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean region, where he advised on a variety of single-asset and mixed-use hotel transactions, branded residential, lending arrangements, corporate structuring, and acquisitions and dispositions.
He began his career in 1995 as an associate at Coudert Brothers in San Jose, California.
Hayek is licensed to practice law in California and as a Dubai Legal Consultant. He speaks English, Arabic and French.
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