Ezra Davids
Chairman and Senior Partner | Johannesburg
Contact
T: +27 11 669 9320
Overview
Ezra Davids is our chairman and senior partner. He specialises in both domestic and cross border mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and securities law, and is the relationship partner for a number of our major clients. Ezra has advised on some of the largest and most complex transactions on the African continent.
He is the former chair of the Private Equity Sub-committee of the Corporate and M&A Committee of the International Bar Association. He is also he former chair of the Faculty Advisory Board of the Law School of the University of Cape Town and a serving member of the university’s council (board of governors); member of the board of trustees of the Legal Resources Trust and Freedom Under Law; director of the Social Justice Initiative; and a patron of the Student Sponsorship Programme (a non-profit organisation focusing on providing high school education to disadvantaged students).
Ezra was the first practising African lawyer to be featured on the front page of the American Lawyer.
Experience
- SABMiller in its combination with AB InBev in a USD 107 billion transaction (the largest M&A transaction in South African and African corporate history)
- Canadian resource company Teck Resources in its merger of equals with Anglo American valued at USD 69 billion (the second largest ever M&A transaction in South African and African corporate history)
- Indian multinational conglomerate, Bharti Airtel in its then proposed merger with MTN valued at USD 24 billion
- M1 Group and Investcom, based in Lebanon, in the latter’s acquisition by MTN valued at USD 5.5 billion
- French media and telecommunications conglomerate Canal+ in its ZAR 57 billion acquisition of the MultiChoice Group
- American multinational food and beverage corporation PepsiCo in its USD 1.7 billion acquisition of Pioneer Foods (one of PepsiCo’s largest acquisitions outside the US)
- Canadian headquartered global mining company Barrick Mining Corporation (formerly Barrick Gold Corporation) in its disposal of Barrick Gold South Africa valued at USD 1.55 billion
- Newco (the acquisition vehicle for the Zahid Group of Saudi Arabia and Entsha (Pty) Ltd) in its ZAR 25 billion acquisition of the oldest industrial company in South Africa, the then JSE listed Barloworld Ltd
- India based multinational pharmaceutical company NATCO Pharma in its ZAR 4 billion acquisition of a stake in Adcock Ingram Holdings Ltd
- PPR, a French retail giant in the disposal of its furniture and household goods business, Conforama, to JSE-listed Steinhoff International Holdings Ltd (valued at ZAR 12 billion).
- SABMiller in the USD 1 billion BEE transaction for its South African subsidiary
- Renergen in its acquisition by NASDAQ-listed ASP Isotopes, Inc., by way of a scheme of arrangement in an all-share deal that will result in the creation of a uniquely positioned global entity in critical and strategically important materials vital to the healthcare, semiconductor manufacturing and energy sectors with a secondary inward listing on the JSE (valued at ZAR 1.4 billion)
- Tokyo Stock Exchange listed Kansai Paint Co. Ltd in its successful hostile bid for JSE Listed Freeworld Coatings Ltd valued at ZAR 3.3 billion (the first and only successful cross-border hostile bid in South Africa)
- German investment firm, ATON GMBH in its successful unsolicited bid for Murray & Roberts
- PPC, the largest cement company in South Africa, in successfully defending itself against an attempt to replace the entire board in the most high-profile example of shareholder activism in South Africa to date; and in its response to an unsolicited approach by Afrisam to combine the largest and second largest cement manufacturers in South Africa;
- Royal Bafokeng Platinum in its successful defence against an unsolicited bid by Northam Platinum
- Alexander Forbes, a major South African financial services company, on its IPO on the JSE valued ZAR 12 billion
- Barloworld in the unbundling and separate listing of Avis on the JSE
- Dis-Chem, a major South African pharmaceuticals retailer, on its IPO on the JSE valued at ZAR 20 billion
- Goldman Sachs and Citigroup in the disposal by Polyus (Norilisk) of its entire shareholding in Gold Fields Ltd valued at USD 2.02 billion through an accelerated bookbuild private placement
- JP Morgan, Citi, Investec, Morgan Stanley, Standard Bank and RMB as Joint Bookrunners Global Co-ordinators on the listing of Pepkor on the JSE
- Valtera in its separation (spin-off) from Anglo American plc
Awards
- Ezra is consistently recognised among Africa’s leading corporate lawyers by the foremost international legal directories.
- Chambers Global has ranked him as a Star Individual for Corporate/M&A in South Africa (2024–2026), alongside a fifteen-year ranking for his work in Capital Markets: Equity, in Band 1 (2015–2026) in South Africa and a Band 2 Africa-wide ranking for Corporate/M&A (2025-2026).
- IFLR1000 has named him a Market Leader across Capital Markets (Debt and Equity) and M&A for five consecutive years (2021–2025), following three years as Highly Regarded (2018–2020).
- Legal 500 inducted Ezra into its Hall of Fame for Commercial, Corporate and M&A (2020–2026), after earlier recognition as a Leading Lawyer and Tier 1 practitioner.
- He has also been recognised by Lexology (formerly Who’s Who Legal) as a Thought Leader: Global Elite for M&A and Corporate Governance, and by Best Lawyers for Corporate Law, M&A Law and Mining Law.
‘Ezra is a fantastic deal maker.’ – Chambers Global, 2026
‘Ezra Davids does exceptionally well. He has an amazing career and his work is really well done.’ – Chambers Global, 2026
‘Ezra Davids always has a solution and has a good sense of the political aspects of the deal.’ – Chambers Global, 2026
‘Ezra Davids regularly advises domestic and international blue-chip clients on complex transactions.’ – Legal 500,2025
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Qualifications
Education
- BA and LLB, University of Cape Town
- HDip Tax, University of the Witwatersrand
- Certificate in Leadership in Law Firms, Harvard Law School
Professional Memberships
- Admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa
- Member of the Council of the University of Cape Town
- Member of the Legal Resources Centre, Freedom Under Law and Social Justice Initiative
INSIGHTS
Chambers Global Practice Guide: Corporate Trends and developments in South Africa, 2026
Chambers Global Practice Guide: Investing in 2026 – South Africa chapter
South Africa: Corporate Law Update, August 2025
The Law Reviews: Shareholder Rights and Activism 2023 – South Africa chapter
South Africa: Investment strategies for foreign businesses
Lexology Getting the Deal Through: Securities Finance 2023 – South African Chapter
The International Comparative Legal Guide: Mergers & Acquisitions 2023 – South African Chapter
The International Comparative Legal Guides: Environmental, Social & Governance Law 2023 – South African Chapter
South Africa: Corporate Law Update, January 2023
The International Comparative Legal Guides: Foreign Direct Investment Regimes 2023 – Eastern and Southern Africa
The Law Reviews: The Shareholder Rights and Activism Review – South African Chapter
The Law Reviews: The Corporate Governance Review: South African Chapter
The International Comparative Legal Guide: Mergers & Acquisitions 2022 – Sixteenth Edition: South African Chapter
Lexology: The initial public offerings review: South African Chapter
The International Comparative Legal Guide: Environmental, Social & Governance Law, 2022 – South Africa Chapter
The Law Reviews: Corporate Governance: South African Chapter
International comparative legal guide on Mergers & Acquisitions, 2021 – South Africa chapter
The International Comparative Legal Guide – Environmental, Social & Governance Law 2021: South African Chapter
The Law Reviews: Shareholder Rights and Activism: South African Chapter
International Comparative Legal Guides: Corporate Governance 2020
The Law Reviews: Corporate Governance Review, 10th Edition, South Africa Chapter
The Chambers Global Practice Guide on Corporate M&A Trends and Developments, 2020 – South Africa Chapter
The Shareholder Rights and Activism Review – Edition 4
The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Corporate Governance 2019
South Africa: Government proposes strategic partnership between the public and private sector
South Africa: Getting The Deal Through, Market Intelligence – Mergers & Acquisitions
Press Release & Announcement
Bowmans announces seven partner promotions for 2025
Bowmans appoints competition law partner with deep pan-African experience
Bowmans appoints Mark Linington as tax executive in Johannesburg
Bowmans appoints Pride Jani as a partner in Johannesburg
Bowmans appoints Zingisa Motloba as partner in its Johannesburg Private Equity Practice
Bowmans bolsters pan-African finance capabilities with appointment of Olwethu Gusha as partner
Bowmans celebrated for its role in shaping the continent’s most innovative transactions
Bowmans continues to grow through strategic partner-level appointments
Bowmans dominates the unlisted M&A category at the DealMakers annual awards ceremony
Bowmans Durban on a growth path with new M&A partner
Bowmans expands in South Africa with strong team hire to join in early 2025
Bowmans expands its business rescue and insolvency capability in Johannesburg
Bowmans is named Law Firm of the Year in three African jurisdictions
Bowmans is ‘exceptionally responsive with deep market and industry knowledge’
Bowmans named Africa Law Firm of the Year by IFLR
Bowmans Namibia expands with the appointment of Hugo Meyer van den Berg as partner
Bowmans praised for its ‘energy, enthusiasm, intellectual strength and first-rate work ethic’
Bowmans reaffirms its status as the pre-eminent African law firm, with exceptional Chambers rankings
Bowmans recognised for advising on South Africa’s most significant transactions
Bowmans strengthens energy and infrastructure transaction advisory capabilities with appointment of Lena Mangondo
Bowmans Tanzania set for further growth with two partner promotions
Bowmans walks away with top honours at the 2024 African Legal Awards
Bowmans welcomes legal team from A&O Shearman South Africa in strategic expansion
Bowmans wins African Legal Award for Property and Construction Team of the Year
Bowmans wins IFLR African Firm of the Year Award, cementing its position as the preeminent African law firm
Bowmans’ outstanding legal expertise highlighted in the Legal500 rankings
Bowmans’ leadership in M&A recognised at the Dealmakers Awards
Bowmans’ winning M&A Practice in South Africa continues to grow
Bowmans’ ‘first-rate service’, ‘expertise, responsiveness and proactive approach’ highlighted
Chambers and Partners recognises the legal expertise of 102 Bowmans’ lawyers
Chambers highlights Ezra Davids’ contribution to Africa’s legal profession
Commercial property expert Ernest Maboko returns to Bowmans as a partner
Flawed Legal Sector Code risks harming broad based transformation
Leading technology lawyer, Robby Coelho, joins Bowmans in another strategic partner appointment
Renowned Cape Town Corporate/ M&A practitioner, Gasant Orrie, joins Bowmans as partner
Senior M&A lawyer Deepa Vallabh joins Bowmans in Johannesburg
Top litigation lawyer returns to her roots at Bowmans
Overview
Ezra Davids is our chairman and senior partner. He specialises in both domestic and cross border mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and securities law, and is the relationship partner for a number of our major clients. Ezra has advised on some of the largest and most complex transactions on the African continent.
He is the former chair of the Private Equity Sub-committee of the Corporate and M&A Committee of the International Bar Association. He is also he former chair of the Faculty Advisory Board of the Law School of the University of Cape Town and a serving member of the university’s council (board of governors); member of the board of trustees of the Legal Resources Trust and Freedom Under Law; director of the Social Justice Initiative; and a patron of the Student Sponsorship Programme (a non-profit organisation focusing on providing high school education to disadvantaged students).
Ezra was the first practising African lawyer to be featured on the front page of the American Lawyer.
Experience
- SABMiller in its combination with AB InBev in a USD 107 billion transaction (the largest M&A transaction in South African and African corporate history)
- Canadian resource company Teck Resources in its merger of equals with Anglo American valued at USD 69 billion (the second largest ever M&A transaction in South African and African corporate history)
- Indian multinational conglomerate, Bharti Airtel in its then proposed merger with MTN valued at USD 24 billion
- M1 Group and Investcom, based in Lebanon, in the latter’s acquisition by MTN valued at USD 5.5 billion
- French media and telecommunications conglomerate Canal+ in its ZAR 57 billion acquisition of the MultiChoice Group
- American multinational food and beverage corporation PepsiCo in its USD 1.7 billion acquisition of Pioneer Foods (one of PepsiCo’s largest acquisitions outside the US)
- Canadian headquartered global mining company Barrick Mining Corporation (formerly Barrick Gold Corporation) in its disposal of Barrick Gold South Africa valued at USD 1.55 billion
- Newco (the acquisition vehicle for the Zahid Group of Saudi Arabia and Entsha (Pty) Ltd) in its ZAR 25 billion acquisition of the oldest industrial company in South Africa, the then JSE listed Barloworld Ltd
- India based multinational pharmaceutical company NATCO Pharma in its ZAR 4 billion acquisition of a stake in Adcock Ingram Holdings Ltd
- PPR, a French retail giant in the disposal of its furniture and household goods business, Conforama, to JSE-listed Steinhoff International Holdings Ltd (valued at ZAR 12 billion).
- SABMiller in the USD 1 billion BEE transaction for its South African subsidiary
- Renergen in its acquisition by NASDAQ-listed ASP Isotopes, Inc., by way of a scheme of arrangement in an all-share deal that will result in the creation of a uniquely positioned global entity in critical and strategically important materials vital to the healthcare, semiconductor manufacturing and energy sectors with a secondary inward listing on the JSE (valued at ZAR 1.4 billion)
- Tokyo Stock Exchange listed Kansai Paint Co. Ltd in its successful hostile bid for JSE Listed Freeworld Coatings Ltd valued at ZAR 3.3 billion (the first and only successful cross-border hostile bid in South Africa)
- German investment firm, ATON GMBH in its successful unsolicited bid for Murray & Roberts
- PPC, the largest cement company in South Africa, in successfully defending itself against an attempt to replace the entire board in the most high-profile example of shareholder activism in South Africa to date; and in its response to an unsolicited approach by Afrisam to combine the largest and second largest cement manufacturers in South Africa;
- Royal Bafokeng Platinum in its successful defence against an unsolicited bid by Northam Platinum
- Alexander Forbes, a major South African financial services company, on its IPO on the JSE valued ZAR 12 billion
- Barloworld in the unbundling and separate listing of Avis on the JSE
- Dis-Chem, a major South African pharmaceuticals retailer, on its IPO on the JSE valued at ZAR 20 billion
- Goldman Sachs and Citigroup in the disposal by Polyus (Norilisk) of its entire shareholding in Gold Fields Ltd valued at USD 2.02 billion through an accelerated bookbuild private placement
- JP Morgan, Citi, Investec, Morgan Stanley, Standard Bank and RMB as Joint Bookrunners Global Co-ordinators on the listing of Pepkor on the JSE
- Valtera in its separation (spin-off) from Anglo American plc
Awards
- Ezra is consistently recognised among Africa’s leading corporate lawyers by the foremost international legal directories.
- Chambers Global has ranked him as a Star Individual for Corporate/M&A in South Africa (2024–2026), alongside a fifteen-year ranking for his work in Capital Markets: Equity, in Band 1 (2015–2026) in South Africa and a Band 2 Africa-wide ranking for Corporate/M&A (2025-2026).
- IFLR1000 has named him a Market Leader across Capital Markets (Debt and Equity) and M&A for five consecutive years (2021–2025), following three years as Highly Regarded (2018–2020).
- Legal 500 inducted Ezra into its Hall of Fame for Commercial, Corporate and M&A (2020–2026), after earlier recognition as a Leading Lawyer and Tier 1 practitioner.
- He has also been recognised by Lexology (formerly Who’s Who Legal) as a Thought Leader: Global Elite for M&A and Corporate Governance, and by Best Lawyers for Corporate Law, M&A Law and Mining Law.
‘Ezra is a fantastic deal maker.’ – Chambers Global, 2026
‘Ezra Davids does exceptionally well. He has an amazing career and his work is really well done.’ – Chambers Global, 2026
‘Ezra Davids always has a solution and has a good sense of the political aspects of the deal.’ – Chambers Global, 2026
‘Ezra Davids regularly advises domestic and international blue-chip clients on complex transactions.’ – Legal 500,2025
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