Corporate/M&A: Private Equity | Asia-Pacific

Clifford Chance has an outstanding transactions team acting across the key financial hubs in Asia, with exceptional strength in Singapore and Hong Kong. The firm has particularly impressive corporate capabilities in South-East Asia and is able to handle deals involving jurisdictions across the entire Asia-Pacific region. It represents an enviable list of blue-chip clients, including major corporates and state-owned enterprises, in high-value M&A in a broad range of industries, including TMT, financial services and energy. On the private equity side, the firm maintains strong relationships with regional financial institutions and funds, as well as globally renowned houses.

Kirkland & Ellis maintains a leading private equity platform representing the firm's stellar US clients in financial investments in China and further across Asia. The firm is increasingly active on behalf of Asian clients, including sovereign wealth funds, and is also known for its work on M&A transactions, including take-privates, private acquisitions and Hong Kong takeovers. The firm is especially well placed for China-related mandates through its Beijing and Hong Kong offices, and also fields a highly commended India practice.

Latham & Watkins fields a respected corporate practice noted for handling M&A transactions in South-East Asia. The firm is especially strong in Singapore, Indonesia and India, and has an impressive practice in Greater China. It works closely with leading teams in capital markets and project finance to provide a one-stop-shop service in the region, and is very active on private equity deals led primarily from its China and Singapore offices, with matters for major private equity funds and corporate investors spanning Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and South Korea.

Morrison Foerster has a first-rate team in Tokyo, working in tandem with skilled corporate practitioners across the region. The Singapore and China offices continue to impress, maintaining a high-quality offering advising on M&A transactions throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The firm regularly advises on cross-border work in a number of industry sectors, especially technology, manufacturing and logistics. It additionally represents major funds in the private equity space, acting for both regional and global investors, and is able to offer venture capital capability from the firm's offices in Hong Kong and Mainland China.

Freshfields has an acclaimed public M&A platform complemented by a robust private equity offering. An established leader in China, winning headline transactional mandates and with a sizeable presence in South-East Asia, the firm is noted for a longstanding, much-admired presence in Vietnam, drawing on tax, antitrust and finance expertise to provide a one-stop-shop service. It is additionally skilled in deals involving India and Japan and offers private equity expertise in China, Japan, Vietnam and Singapore, acting for leading private equity houses, investment funds and sovereign wealth funds.

Paul, Weiss has a high-profile private equity practice with an enviable portfolio of work and clients, featuring mandates from major US investment houses, as well as banking and financial services clients and sovereign wealth funds. It is well known for its significant track record of advising on foreign direct investment and also offers broad public M&A expertise, centred on high-profile TMT-related investment, with notable experience advising on matters related to Taiwan, Singapore and Korea. The firm also offers a growing corporate practice in Japan, with capability on both inbound and outbound private equity investments, as well as M&A related to the life sciences sector.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has a superb private equity practice attracting high-calibre mandates from leading US and Chinese funds, advising on investments and exits across the region. The firm maintains a strong China-based private equity practice and also handles private equity mandates in South Asia, as well as from its Japan and South Korea offices. It is also active in M&A, advising major Asian corporates on transactions throughout the region and dominating the North Asian market with skilled lawyers housed in Greater China and Japan. The firm offers over two decades of experience advising on high-value M&A work, including headline transactions for clients in the TMT, life sciences and automotive sectors.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges has a Greater China-based platform with an Asia-wide outlook and is best known for its expertise advising on private equity matters, with a focus on take-private deals. It acts for both local and international funds on complex matters. Also known for its expertise in US, Hong Kong and cross-border public M&A and venture capital investments, the firm has notable deal experience on transactions in the TMT, life sciences, energy, education and hospitality sectors.

White & Case has a highly successful M&A group with a particularly firm foothold in Greater China, India, Japan and Singapore, as well as further afield in Kazakhstan. Its impressive list of clients features key regional and global names from the financial services and life sciences sectors, among others. The firm advises clients on significant investments throughout the region and around the world, and is well suited to acting for US and European clients on inbound investments into Asia, particularly on deals involving South-East Asia.

Baker McKenzie maintains an immense corporate practice with a sizeable bench in most Asian jurisdictions, supporting the provision of substantial, multi-office teams for cross-border transactions. The firm has notable capabilities in South-East Asia, with a local presence in seven ASEAN countries, most notably Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. It advises clients in a variety of industries including media, energy, and food and drink, and also maintains noteworthy private equity capabilities, assisting major Asian investment managers and sovereign wealth funds, with strength handling investments across Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore.

Milbank has an established corporate team based in Singapore, with deep and longstanding expertise relating to Indonesia. The team also handles M&A transactions and private equity work across the wider South-East Asia region, including in Vietnam and the Philippines. In Greater China, the firm has a growing presence in the private equity space, acting for international and regional investors and corporates on investments, LBOs and exits. It is especially active in the healthcare, finance and technology sectors.

A&O Shearman has a prominent M&A platform, particularly well versed in catering to top-drawer financial services clients. The firm is additionally skilled in deals relating to the insurance, TMT and life sciences sectors, with an impressive regional footprint with leading offerings in a number of key South-East Asian jurisdictions, including Malaysia and Singapore, as well as teams in China, Australia and Japan. It is active in the private equity space through its offices in Australia, Indonesia and Vietnam, and is also well placed to advise on venture capital investments. It offers a wealth of experience in take-private transactions, especially representing special committees. Its work in the private equity space includes working on investments and exits and collaborating with the firm's investment funds team on fund formation. The regional M&A practice works in tandem with its teams in the antitrust and tax fields to give clients full-service coverage.

Davis Polk & Wardwell fields a respected transactional team with considerable M&A expertise. Admired for its representation of high-profile Chinese clients in take-privates, acquisitions and disposals, the firm also handles significant private equity mandates from its Hong Kong and Beijing offices and often acts for private equity funds and VC investors. Its key industry sectors include e-commerce, media and telecommunications. It is additionally able to advise on mandates involving India, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan.

DLA Piper has a notable presence in the M&A space and is well versed in foreign direct investment and domestic transactions in a number of jurisdictions. The firm assists major Chinese clients on outbound mandates across Asia as well as advising on their investments into Europe and the USA. It maintains a focus on inbound transactions to Australia, with notable experience in tech-related deals, and is widely recognised for its extensive global network, with noted expertise in Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and New Zealand. The practice also continues to represent a number of major investment banks.

Goodwin offers a Hong Kong-based team that is frequently sought out by major players in the private equity sphere. The firm advises on pre-IPO investments, privatisations and divestments across the TMT, financial services, entertainment and biopharmaceutical sectors, and has additional expertise in matters relating to India.

Herbert Smith Freehills has a standout team for oil and gas M&A across the region, with an illustrious client roster which also features global corporate heavyweights in mining, as well as regional telecoms giants and major financial institutions. The firm's acclaimed Australian offering handles M&A transactions as well as private equity deals, with proficiency across key Asian markets. It is also very active in the India market, where it works with established domestic corporates and is particularly engaged in the pharmaceutical sphere. A notable corporate team in Hong Kong and Mainland China handles transactions across the region. The firm boasts a respected transactional practice in Japan and an established reputation in South-East Asia, especially for M&A in the energy sector, with able practices in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Linklaters has a very strong M&A practice that is consistently winning key roles on the foremost transactions in the region. The firm demonstrates high-quality capabilities across key Asian business hubs and in relation to significant industry sectors, particularly in China and Singapore. It is active in jurisdictions across the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, India and Thailand, as well as Malaysia and the Philippines. Major oil and gas groups, food industry giants and leading insurers feature on its enviable client roster. It also maintains a practice for private equity work, most notably out of its China and Singapore offices.

Ropes & Gray is well known for its private equity capabilities across the region, including China, Korea and Japan. The firm maintains longstanding relationships with key private equity clients making investments across the region and in diverse industry sectors, including life sciences and energy technology. It acts as a strategic adviser to major clients on significant matters, including joint ventures and investment restructuring, and frequently advises Asia-based private equity houses on their outbound investments into the USA. It is also active on large corporate transactions in the technology sector, assisting major multinational conglomerates.

Cleary Gottlieb has a streamlined team handling high-level private equity and public M&A around the region. An impressive workload includes representing leading Chinese corporates in a range of outbound acquisitions and advising major private equity houses on significant cross-border investments and fund formations. The firm is especially renowned in North Asia, and noted for its India-related work and for strength in Malaysia. It is further recommended for US-Asia deals, handling work involving clients in the TMT and life sciences sectors.

Hogan Lovells draws together multidisciplinary, cross-border teams to assist on complex corporate matters. The firm has an extensive bench across the region, with particular strength in China and also noteworthy services in Singapore, Japan, Australia and Vietnam. It is also recognised as having notable expertise in handling Indonesia-related matters from the Singapore and Japan offices. It represents clients from a wide range of industries, including TMT, insurance, finance, energy, and food and drink.

Paul Hastings has a notable corporate practice advising an impressive portfolio of Chinese clients from its Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong offices. The firm is renowned for its expertise in outbound private equity and real estate transactions and is regularly active on M&A, corporate restructurings, joint ventures and take-privates in the TMT sector, with additional experience across the life sciences, transportation, shipping and energy sectors. It advises on private equity deals for a client roster featuring Chinese and international private equity houses and funds, and remains highly focused on private equity investments in the real estate sector, with capacity to advise throughout Asia.