Dr. Sanford U. Mba

Dr. Sanford U. Mba is a Partner at Dentons ACAS-Law, practicing in the Corporate and Commercial group, specializing in Mergers and Acquisitions and banking and finance. He advises clients across a broad spectrum of corporate and commercial matters, including corporate mergers, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and complex financing transactions.

Dr. Mba has acted as lead or key team member on numerous significant transactions, including advising Africa Finance Corporation on a US$35 million financing for the Waltersmith modular refinery; Standard Chartered Bank on the US$55 million financing of the National Assembly power project; Interswitch management on Visa's US$200 million investment and on Leapfrog's and TanaAfrica's investment; Medallion on its acquisition by Digital Realty; Subsea7 on the divestment of Jagal from Nigerstar7; Verod on its acquisition of a 65% stake in iFitness; and Sun International on its divestment from Tourist Company of Nigeria. He also advises on syndicated facilities, including a US$403 million facility for Pan Ocean Oil Corporation and multi‑billion Naira rail infrastructure financing.

Dr. Mba holds an LL.B (Hons) from the University of Benin (2011), an LL.M (International Business Law) with Honours from Central European University (2015), and a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD), Summa Cum Laude, from Central European University (2018). He was called to the Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2012. He has been an Academic Visitor at Oxford University's Commercial Law Center, a Visiting Scholar at Cornell Law School, and a Central European University Global Teaching Fellow.

He is recognised by IFLR1000 as a Rising Star in Banking and Finance, by Legal 500 in Banking, Finance and Capital Markets, and by the Lexology Index (Who's Who Legal) in M&A. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, INSOL International, and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), Nigerian branch.