Selling into Europe from the UAE: what EU acquirers actually want to see

Structure, ownership, substance: the three questions every EU acquirer asks, and how to answer them first.

European acquirers don't decline businesses because they're registered in the UAE. They decline files that leave questions open. The good news: the questions are predictable, and almost all of them can be answered before anyone asks.

Structure

If your company sits in a free zone with a holding company somewhere else above it, draw it. One page, every entity, every percentage. The acquirer will reconstruct your structure either way. It's better if they start from your version.

Ownership

Every beneficial owner above the threshold, usually 25% and sometimes lower, will need to be identified. If ownership runs through another company, expect them to follow it all the way up the chain.

A licence tells an acquirer you're allowed to operate. It doesn't tell them where you actually do.

Substance

Where is the business really run? Staff, office, bank account, where contracts are signed. The more of that you can show, the fewer follow-up questions you'll get.

How the money moves

An acquirer settles to a bank account, and it will want that account to belong to the contracting entity, ideally in a bank it can make sense of. If settlement is meant to land somewhere other than where the company is registered, say so up front and explain why. Surprises here are the fastest way to turn an approval into a review.

Put those four answers on the table before the application goes in, and the conversation changes. The acquirer stops asking whether you are a risk and starts asking how to price you. That is the file we prepare.