M&A deal making in Asia and Middle East has become harder in 2026. Asia Pacific aggregate deal value fell sharply in first half as compared to last year, partly because the Hormuz conflict disrupted energy supplies. In Middle East, however, deal value held steady, but deals took longer to close, primarily because of the conflict in the region.
These pressures are showing up in M&A disputes, which were already rising before the conflict and are expected to keep rising. Currently, corporate and shareholder disputes form a significant share of arbitration cases in Hong Kong, commercial claims at the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts also rose sharply in early 2026. The reasons for these disputes are mostly the same, gaps in due diligence, purchase price adjustments, earn-outs and warrant claims.
However, claims over a sale are only a part of the picture. Some disputes start when a relationship breaks down. For instance, joint ventures break down through management conflict, and governance failures. Investor state disputes occur, when the host itself misbehaves. With so many routes to a dispute, investors need to know what protects them.
Thus, this panel will explore how these disputes arise and which protections hold up once a deal has closed with investors, in-house counsel, arbitral institutions, legal practitioners and valuation experts. It will look at contract terms, warranty and indemnity insurance and its growing war exclusions, and the choice of arbitration seat and enforcement across borders.
The panel will also consider the growing role of valuation and damages evidence, from testing a material adverse effect claim to pricing earn-outs and put options. Attention will be given to the remedies available to investors when a deal, a joint venture or an investment goes wrong.
Key Discussion Topics
• Why post-M&A disputes are rising, and where they arise most across Asia and Middle East.
• The role of geopolitics in M&A disputes, impact on deal certainty, timing and value.
• Host-state misconduct and the protection available to foreign investors under investment treaties.
• Contractual protections and warranty and indemnity insurance, and their limits in a conflict environment
• Joint venture breakdown, shareholder deadlock and exit disputes in cross-border private investments.
• The role of valuation, damages and expert evidence, and the next generation of post-M&A disputes.
Speaker Information
• Pallavi Shroff, Managing Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co (Moderator)
• Shaneen Parikh, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
• Montek Mayal, Partner and Practice Head – Asia & Middle East, Osborne Partners
• Sami Tanous, Head of Arbitration and Middle East Office, Freshfields LLP
• Chatura Randeniya, Partner, Afridi & Angell
• Khushboo Shahdadpuri, Partner, Al Tamimi & Co.
• Ivana Dahl, ADNOC Group
