Yi Gao

Yi Gao is a Partner in Simpson Thacher’s Hong Kong office and a member of the Firm’s Corporate Department. He focuses on helping companies from the Greater China region to raise capital and become listed companies in the U.S. and Hong Kong. He advises on a wide range of capital markets transactions from IPOs to follow-on equity, equity-linked and debt issuances, including registered offerings and private placements, and transactions involving common shares, American depositary shares, global depositary shares, convertible and non-convertible debt securities. He is knowledgeable about listings on the NYSE, Nasdaq and HKSE, including primary, secondary and dual primary listings, and listing by introduction, de-SPAC transactions and reverse take-over of listed companies. He also advises clients in their pre-IPO and post-IPO financings and investments, going private transactions, and various general corporate and regulatory compliance matters.

Yi was recognized as a “Growth Driver” in China Business Law Journal’s The A-List and a “Highly Regarded” lawyer in capital markets (equity) by IFLR1000. He has played a pivotal role in many groundbreaking IPOs in the region, including Zeekr’s US listing, the largest U.S. IPO by a Chinese company since 2021, and Didi and Full Truck Alliance’s U.S. IPOs, the largest and second largest U.S. IPO by Chinese companies in 2021. He is widely regarded as a leading advisor to Chinese companies seeking to access overseas capital markets through complex, high-profile offerings.

Joined Simpson Thacher in 2005

- Member of the New York State Bar Association

- Solicitor of the High Court of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

- University of Michigan Law School (J.D., 2005), magna cum laude; Order of the Coif

- University of International Business and Economics (LL.B., 1999; LL.M., 2002)