Tholinhlanhla Gcabashe

Tholinhlanhla Gcabashe is the Head of Corporate/M&A at Bowmans in Johannesburg, specialising in mergers and acquisitions and corporate and commercial law. He advises clients on domestic and cross-border private M&A, with many of his clients operating in heavily regulated sectors, relying on his expertise to navigate local laws and structures and mitigate risks to ensure successful transactions.

Tholi has advised Kuehne + Nagel AG on its acquisition of the Morgan Cargo group across South Africa, Kenya, and the United Kingdom; Old Mutual Limited on its proposed ZAR 2.8 billion B-BBEE ownership transaction; Mr Price Group Limited on its majority stake acquisition of Studio 88, acquisition of Power Fashion, and acquisition of the Yuppiechef group; Allianz SE on the establishment of a joint venture with Sanlam to combine their African businesses; SABMiller on the recommended acquisition by Anheuser-Busch InBev; China Investment Corporation on its acquisition of a 25% interest in Shanduka Group; Puma Energy on its acquisition of a majority shareholding in Sakunda Petroleum in Zimbabwe; Alexander Forbes on the M&A aspects of a dual track process which resulted in its listing on the JSE; and Harmony Gold Mining Company on its acquisition of the Moab Khotsong Mine and related infrastructure from AngloGold Ashanti.

Tholi holds an LL.B from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a Certificate in Banking and Financial Markets from the University of the Witwatersrand, and completed the Leading Professional Services Firms Programme at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (2021). He is a member of the Firm's Management Board.

He has been ranked in Band 5 for Corporate/M&A by Chambers Global (2025–2026), as a Leading Partner for Commercial, Corporate and M&A by The Legal 500 (2023–2026), and as a Highly Regarded lawyer for M&A by IFLR1000 (2024–2025).