ARDENT

ARDENT Advisory & Accounting
Corporate Profile
Transaction Advisory | Risk Advisory | Management Consulting

ARDENT Advisory & Accounting LLC is a limited liability company registered in the United Arab Emirates. The ARDENT name and logo are owned by ARDENT Advisory & Accounting LLC . Printed in the UAE
Contents
Corporate Overview
Core Strengths
ARDENT Team
Industry Expertise
Product Offerings
Our Credentials
2
Corporate Overview
ARDENT is a UAE headquartered advisory firm, with a targeted focus in the GCC
region.
The firms partners and directors bring over 100 years of cumulative advisory
experience with the Big 4 professional firms and global investment banks.
The ARDENT team members have worked with and advised some of the leading
industry players in the region and have played a pivotal role in their business
growth.
Our client centric business model, in addition to our local expertise and extensive
industry knowledge, consistently creates and adds value to our clients.
3
Core Strengths
Functional
specialists
Focus on
adding value
Client
Centric
Approach
Global
experience
ARDENT is founded by functional specialists with relevant industry

experience advising MNCs, local and international banks, government
entities, public and private sector businesses and family offices.
We are passionate about adding value to our clients, which translates

into bespoke advice to each client to suit their specific needs.
Our approach focuses on our clients and their issues, by directly

involving our partners and directors on every engagement, which
ensures clients receive practical, measureable and implementable advice.
The ARDENT senior team brings over 100 years of cumulative

experience with Big 4 professional service firms and leading global
investment banks.
4
ARDENT Team
Sharad Bhandari, Managing Partner
Sharad is the Managing Partner of ARDENT Advisory as well as a member of the Trade Committee of Abu Dhabi
Chamber of Commerce. Formerly, Sharad was a partner and the Head of Transactions and Restructuring Practice at
a Big 4 firm in the Lower Gulf.
Sharad has over three decades of Audit and Advisory experience in Corporate Finance, Transaction Services,
Restructuring, Forensic and Internal Audit. He served as the Lead Partner on several large clients of the Big 4 firm
and has led several of the landmark Corporate Finance and Restructuring transactions in the UAE in the recent
past.
Sharad is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Sashikanth Ramakrishnan, Partner, Head of Advisory

Sashikanth is a founding Partner and Head of Advisory at ARDENT with over 24 years professional experience in
providing a range of Financial Advisory services to a broad range of GCC businesses. Until recently, he was the
Head of Transactions & Restructuring for a Big 4 firm in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and South Asia Region.
Prior to moving to the KSA in 2003, he served with the same firm in the UAE, the UK and India for over 12 years.
Sashikanth has significant experience of advising corporates as well as private equity houses/ sovereign wealth
funds. He has led advisory services in relation to M&A mandates and equity/debt fund raising for mid-market
clients in the retail and manufacturing businesses, financial due diligence services for several very large transactions
in the Telecom, Utilities and Manufacturing sectors, many of which were cross border transactions.
Sashikanth is an Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
5
ARDENT Team
Nirbhay Vaidya, Partner, Head of Risk Advisory
Nirbhay is a founding partner of ARDENT. Prior to joining ARDENT, he was part of the executive leadership team at
one of the largest real estate private developers in the world, headquartered in Houston.
Based in Abu Dhabi, Nirbhay headed their Finance function for the MENA region and was involved in strategic
planning and development, client negotiations and fund raising.
Between 1997 and 2007, Nirbhay worked with two Big 4 firms in the UAE and UK, advising a broad client base
spanning from large national and multinational clients to clients listed on the DFM, FTSE and NYSE. His sector
specific expertise ranges from FMCG, real estate and construction to broad exposure in healthcare, automotive and
media industries.
Nirbhay is an Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Nigel Smith, Partner, Head of Debt Advisory and Restructuring
Nigel has been a full time Debt advisor and Restructuring specialist for over 25 years. He was previously a member
of the Banks Credit Committee and headed its workout team for 6 years. He joined a Big 4 firms UK Restructuring
team in 2001 and its Debt Advisory team in 2006, where he was appointed Partner in London, before permanently
relocating to the UAE in 2011.
During the course of the past 15 years, Nigel has extensively advised the Boards of FTSE 350 companies. In the past
10 years he has specialized in assisting Boards understanding, structuring and raising new finance. He advises
groups across the spectrum including strong credits and also companies in distress.
He has raised in excess of US$2bn in new finance for UAE companies during the last 2 years.
Nigel specializes in representing several large families and listed companies in realizing the optimal capital structure
and achieving market leading terms on all debt raising whether though a refinancing, restructuring or for new
capital projects.
He is currently advising an Indian listed company in a debt and equity capital raise of c US$2bn.
Nigel has numerous contacts within the banking sector, both within and external to GCC.
Education: BA in Economics, Liverpool University; A.C.I.B.; CCT; FSA London Stock Exchange Approved Person.
6
ARDENT Team
Ajay Malik, Partner, Head of Private Equity
Ajay is a Partner and Head of Private Equity at ARDENT with over 20 years professional experience in principal
investing, corporate & project lending and corporate finance advisory while working with leading international banks
and financial advisory firms.
Prior to joining ARDENT, Ajay was with International Finance Corporation for 8 years, where he was responsible for
originating, processing and supervising equity, mezzanine and debt investments, while working for the Europe,
Middle East and North Africa region. Previously, Ajay has worked with two Big 4 firms, where he has been involved
in a number of M&A, private equity fund raising and corporate lending projects, across a number of sectors
including oil & gas, property, education, healthcare, construction and infrastructure contracting, industrials
and transport. Ajay has also worked with a leading international bank handling project and corporate lending for
sovereign and contracting clients during his work experience.
Education: Ajay is a CFA, has an MBA in Finance and is a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering.
7
ARDENT Team
Hemant Agarwalla, Director
Hemant has over 15 years of experience and has previously led the valuation advisory team for a Big 4 firm in the
UAE. He has worked across diverse sector viz. aerospace, defense and logistics, consumer markets, education,
financial services, healthcare, IT, infrastructure & utilities, real estate & contracting.
Hemant has advised on over 80+ buy-side transactions, divestures, mergers, restructuring and other strategic
matters.
Education: MBA from Management Development Institute, Gurgaon.
Shinto Johny, Associate Director

Shinto has over 13 years of consulting experience encompassing policies and processes documentation, business
process improvement, benchmarking studies, strategy and business plan development.
Shinto has worked in India, the UK and the UAE and was with one of the Big 4 consulting firms before joining
ARDENT.
He has held board-level positions in several companies including two NASDAQ listed companies. His sector
experience includes financial services, energy, manufacturing, media and IT.
Education: MBA from Ecole Nationale des Pont et Chausees, Paris.
Charu Khurana, Associate Director
Charu has extensive experience of monitoring and analysing critical business control procedures, optimising risk
management procedures and providing independent audit reports. She brings with her with over a decade of
experience in Internal Audit of International and GCC based banks
Charu has worked in India and the UAE with ABN Amro, Mashreq Bank, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, HDFC, India and
Standard Chartered Bank, India
Education: Charu is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
8
ARDENT Team
Amit Lodha, Manager
Amit is an IT & Finance professional with 13+ years of experience in ERP implementations, risk assessment, internal
controls review and Internal audits. Prior to ARDENT, Amit was a Senior Consultant with IT Advisory Team at one
of the Big 4 firms in the UAE
Amit specializes in project management and controls review and has supported various system and vendor
selections
He has successfully led teams to 8 successful ERP implementations focusing on implementing internal controls and
MIS reports. Amit has also delivered engagements on IT controls testing and applications testing including change
management controls
A MBA and a Chartered Accountant with 2 Certifications in Financials Module of MS Dynamics ERP
Certified Project Management Professional from PMI, USA and currently pursuing CIA (Level 2 completed)
Karthik Subramanyan, Manager
Karthik is a Manager in ARDENTs Transaction Advisory Practice. He has over 8 years of experience in M&A,
Business Valuations, Strategic Business Plan Reviews, Distress Asset Reviews, Private Equity Fund raising and Debt
Syndication
Until recently he was with a Big4 firm and his experience includes assignments with large PE houses, family houses
and conglomerates across sectors like Construction, Real Estate, Food & Agriculture, Retail & Consumer, Healthcare
and IT/ITeS.
Education: Chartered Accountant, Bachelors in Commerce and CFA Level III (USA)
9
ARDENT Team
Sulaiman Al Hamimi, Associate
Prior to joining ARDENT, Sulaiman has worked as an Accounting Intern for an Oil & Gas company in Abu Dhabi,
UAE and for a Management Services company in Los Angeles, USA. In addition, He has worked as an Accountant for
an Exchange Company in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
His recent projects with ARDENT have been in the Contracting and Construction industry, Government Sector,
Automotive industry, and Real Estate industry performing internal audit & diagnostic reviews, and business process
improvement, and developing procedure manuals
He performed a Business Process Improvement and procedure manuals development exercise. He reviewed complete
procedure, held enhancement discussions, and formulated future state procedures.
He worked on improving all the departments' processes and procedures manual including procurement department.
He performed internal audits, and finalized reports with global audit programs. He also performed documentation of
internal controls at process and entity levels, risk assessment, gap analysis, and remediation planning for identified
gaps.
Sulaiman has bachelor of Business Administration Major: Accounting, Minor: Finance, Abu Dhabi University, UAE
Certificate in Accounting, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), USA
Pursuing CPA.
10
Industry Expertise
ARDENT supports clients across a wide range of industries
Retail & Consumer
Industrials
Oil & Gas
Infrastructure
Real Estate
Financial Services
Construction
Healthcare
Government
Telecom
Media &
Communication
Hospitality &
Leisure
Client groups include Government entities, PE houses, large private sector businesses and private family offices.
ARDENT employs a cross functional team that has depth of experience across industries..we add real value by
providing informed advice that results in competitive advantage and improved performance for our clients
11
Product Offerings
ARDENT supports its clients across their business agenda helping senior management with growth, control,
and efficiency related decisions
Transaction Advisory
Risk Advisory
Management Consulting
Transaction Support
Internal Audit &

Compliance Services
Business Strategy & Planning
Corporate Finance
Corporate Governance
Process Improvement &

Optimization
Restructuring,
Refinancing & Debt raising
Forensic Services
Information Technology
Risk Management
Human Resources
Accounting & CFO Services
12
Transaction Advisory
Transaction
Support
Transaction Support:
We provide comprehensive support to stakeholders in the evaluation and execution of their
transaction, from deal identification to post deal integration support. Our services include:
Corporate Finance
Analysis of financial projections

Business modeling
Valuation and pricing
Purchase price allocation
Sale and purchase agreements
Completion accounting
IPO advisory
Post deal integration advisory
Employee issues
Transaction tax structuring
Corporate Finance:
ARDENT provides corporate finance advisory services right from deal origination to deal
completion. We assist with capital formation, such as raising debt and equity for middle
market businesses to large capital intensive businesses. We also advise our clients in
buying or selling businesses or assisting them to prepare for an IPO.
Our services include:
Strategic advisory
Deal flow management
Portfolio rationalization
Merger and acquisitions
Origination
Advise on transaction
Fund raising advisory - debt and
Negotiation
documentation
equity
Deal structuring and execution Infrastructure advisory
Target Search buy side and sell
Deal closing
side
Restructuring
Restructuring:
Restructuring: Creative solutions to maximise value and minimize provisions. Ardent provides
comprehensive restructuring advisory services for lenders, companies, creditors, financial
sponsors, and other stakeholders of companies that may be in a distressed or special situation.
Our services include;
IBR and Restructuring strategy for Lenders

Corporate Financial Restructuring
Lender and Client Negotiations / Refinancing
Capital / Ownership Restructuring
Refinancing advisory
Working capital management
Stressed M&A
Operational Restructuring
Cost Reduction strategy
Finance Department restructuring
Business and assets divestment
Corporate Restructuring Officer (CRO)
13
Risk Advisory
Internal Audit &
Compliance
Corporate
Governance
Internal Audit & Compliance:

Our internal audit and compliance services provide an independent and objective assurance and are
designed to add value and improve an organization's operations. Our services include:
Outsourced Internal Audit
Operational efficiency review
Co-sourced Internal Audit
Validating reliability of financial reporting
Set-up of Internal Audit function
Compliance with laws and regulations and the
entity's policies and procedures
Corporate Governance:
With the ever increasing focus on corporate governance, ARDENT professionals are able to support
you in achieving best in-class governance standards. Our services include:
Design & Review of Governance Framework
Training of Board of Directors
Board and Board Committee assessments
Forensic Services
Risk Management
Accounting & CFO

Services
Regulatory Compliance Review

Family Business Governance
Forensic Services:
We assist organizations in taking pre-emptive actions to prevent economic crime and disputes, as
well as with post fraud investigations. Our services include:
Fraud prevention and detection
Revenue leakage assessment
Fraud risk assessment
Anti-money laundering review
Integrity due diligence
Whistle blowing services
Data analytics
Risk Management:
ARDENT can assist financial and non-financial institutions to evaluate and implement
sound risk management practices. Our services include:
Set-up of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
Credit risk assessment
function
Operational risk assessment
Enterprise Risk assessment
Basel III gap analysis and implementation
Review of Treasury operations
solutions
Accounting & CFO Services:
We assist organizations with enhancing the effectiveness of their accounting and finance
functions with tailor-made accounting & CFO services such as:
Secondment of CFO and other finance and
Design and implementation of KPIs
accounting staff
Financial analysis and modeling
Budgets and forecasts preparation
Bookkeeping and preparation of Financial
Cash Flow Management
Statements
Payroll processing
14
Management Consulting
Business Strategy &
Planning
Business Strategy & Planning:

ARDENT supports clients with their business planning and strategy needs, whether you plan to grow
organically or inorganically through acquisitions. Our services include
Long term Business Planning
Market entry strategy
M&A strategy
Process
Improvement &
Optimism
Information
Technology
Human Resources
Feasibility studies, including Market studies

Product and Customer strategy
Margin Enhancement strategy
Process Improvement & Optimization:

ARDENT advises clients to improve the effectiveness of business processes and to optimize
costs. Our services include
Business Process Improvement &
Finance Function Transformation
Transformation
Supply Chain Optimization
Design and review of Offshoring / Out-sourcing Design and enhancement of Customer Service
arrangements
Management
Cost Optimization and Reduction
Information Technology:
We assist organizations with enhancing the security and effectiveness of their Information
Technology platforms. Our services include:
IT Strategy
IT Risk assessment
IT Program Management & Quality Assurance IT Security and Vulnerability testing
IT Transformation
Vendor and system selection
Human Resources:
Human capital for many organizations is the critical resource for success. We help clients
maximize this potential with our targeted solutions which include:
Design and implementation of Performance
Management Systems
Change Management
Program and Project Management solutions

Design and implementation of Organization
Structures
People Development
15
Our Credentials
ARDENTs professionals have over100 years of cumulative experience of serving clients in the GCC markets across several industries
and sectors. Few of the entities our professionals have advised are:
Public Sector
Private Sector
Financial Institutions
Abu Dhabi Aviation
Abdullah Naser Group
Abraaj Capital
Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce
ACWA Power
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
Abu Dhabi Ports Company
Aldar Properties
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Abu Dhabi Securities Market
Al Fahim Holding
Al Rajhi Bank
ADNOC Group
Al Jaber Group
Arab National Bank
Amiri Flight
Al Noor Hospital
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Dolphin Energy
Al Sayegh Brothers
Capital Markets Authority
Emirates Nuclear Corporation
Anglo Arabian Healthcare
Central Bank of the UAE
Etisalat
Arabian Construction Company
Emirates NBD
Etihad
Consolidated Contracting Company
Gulf International Bank
GE Mubadala
DAMAS
Gulf Investment Corporation
General Industries Corp
Dhabi Contracting
Invest AD
Khalifa Fund
Dubai Investments
Ithmar Capital
MASDAR
Emirates Advanced Business Group
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Mubadala
Faisaliah Group
National Bank of Abu Dhabi
National Drilling Company
Le Meridien Hotels
Samba Financial Group
National Marine Dredging Company
Olayan Group
Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency
NPCC
Omeir Bin Yousef Group
Societe Generale
RTA
Pepsico Inc
Standard Chartered Bank
TDIC
Rashid Mazroui Group
Union National Bank
ZonesCorp
Saudi Oger
Waha Investments
16
Our Credentials Transaction Advisory

Illustrative list of our completed and on-going projects are presented below
Abu Dhabi based
diversified
investment
company
Abu Dhabi based

diversified
investment
company
Financial due
diligence of four
companies, each
operating a chain of
clinics in the UAE
Due diligence of
healthcare
companies for
acquisition
Dubai based, GCC

focused private
equity firm
A diversified Indian
industrial house
Buy side assistance

with respect to
acquisition of
targets in the
healthcare sector
Liaising for setting

up a greenfield
plant in the UAE
and assisting in
fund raising for the
plant
UAE based family

group
UAE based money

exchange
Negotiation support
for restructuring /
refinancing debts of
over AED 4,500
million
Sell side assistance

of 100% equity of a
money exchange
business to
strategic or
institutional
investors
UAE based
diversified family
group
Sell side assistance
with respect to
companies
operating in
contracting and
related business
Belgian based
manufacturer of
fiberglass products
Liaising for setting
up a greenfield
plant in the UAE
UAE based building

materials
manufacturer /
trader
Abu Dhabi based

healthcare
provider
Valuation support
for negotiating with
existing shareholder
buyout
M&A buy side

assistance with
respect to a Dubai
based medical clinic
17
Our Credentials Risk Advisory

Semi-government
infrastructure
company
Implementation of
ERM framework,
preparation of Risk
Management
Manual and Risk
Registers
UAE based
commercial
financing company
Preparation of risk
registers and
reporting key risks
to the Board for ongoing monitoring
Private travel &

tourism company
Forensic
investigation work
to identify and
quantify fraud
perpetuated by
employees and
internal audit
UAE based
construction
company
Internal audit
services for the
company
UAE based family

group
Semi-government
fabrication
company
Internal audit
services for their
real-estate and car
dealership business
Target review of
support functions
to identify fraud
and suggest process
improvements
UAE based family

group
UAE based family

group
Business and
operational review
of three lines of
business to improve
profitability and
operational
efficiency
Business and
operational review
of more than 10
companies
operating in oil field
services, building
materials and
manufacturing
UAE based holding

company
CFO services
Business and
operational review
of more than 20
companies
operating in diverse
verticals
Providing outsourced
accounting services
to listed companies
in multiple industry
segments
18
Our Credentials Management Consulting

UAE based bank
Precast company
UAE based
construction
company
Assistance in HR
process
improvement and
update of HR
policies and
procedures
Assist in review and

improvement of
policies and
procedures
documentation
Development of
policies and
procedures manual
Semi-government
infrastructure
company
Private travel &

tourism company
UAE based
industrial group
Review effectiveness
and implementation
of cost improvement
and efficiency
initiatives
Assistance in system
and vendor
selection
Identifying, leading
and negotiating the
IT outsourcing
project resulting in
significant cost
reduction
Government agency
Assistance in review
and improvement of
policies and
procedures of
procurement
function
Semi-government
infrastructure
company
Assistance in
validation and
accuracy check of
data migrated to a
TIER I ERP
19

ARDENT

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ARDENT Advisory & Accounting

Transaction Advisory | Risk Advisory | Management Consulting

ARDENT is founded by functional specialists with relevant industry

We are passionate about adding value to our clients, which translates

Our approach focuses on our clients and their issues, by directly

The ARDENT senior team brings over 100 years of cumulative

Sashikanth Ramakrishnan, Partner, Head of Advisory

Shinto Johny, Associate Director

Karthik Subramanyan, Manager

Certificate in Accounting, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), USA

Retail & Consumer

Oil & Gas

Internal Audit &

Business Strategy & Planning

Process Improvement &

Accounting & CFO Services

Analysis of financial projections

IBR and Restructuring strategy for Lenders

Internal Audit & Compliance:

Accounting & CFO

Regulatory Compliance Review

Business Strategy & Planning:

Feasibility studies, including Market studies

Process Improvement & Optimization:

Program and Project Management solutions

Abu Dhabi Aviation

Abdullah Naser Group

Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

Abu Dhabi Ports Company

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority

Abu Dhabi Securities Market

Arab National Bank

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Capital Markets Authority

Emirates Nuclear Corporation

Anglo Arabian Healthcare

Central Bank of the UAE

Arabian Construction Company

Consolidated Contracting Company

Gulf International Bank

Gulf Investment Corporation

General Industries Corp

Emirates Advanced Business Group

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts

National Bank of Abu Dhabi

National Drilling Company

Samba Financial Group

National Marine Dredging Company

Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency

Omeir Bin Yousef Group

Standard Chartered Bank

Rashid Mazroui Group

Union National Bank

Our Credentials Transaction Advisory

Abu Dhabi based

Dubai based, GCC

Buy side assistance

Liaising for setting

UAE based family

UAE based money

Sell side assistance

UAE based building