Written by Jad on 01 August 2018.
♦ Recent Deals ♦ Beijing, China
Cooley is strengthening its newest office with the arrival of partner Henry Yin from Kirkland & Ellis. Based in Beijing, Yin will be a member of Cooley’s business department. “Henry’s arrival perfectly complements Cooley’s global growth strategy,” said Mike Lincoln, chair of Cooley’s global business department. “Building out our Beijing presence is the firm’s latest step in finding next-generation leaders to continue our history of achievement across the Asia-Pacific region. We are thrilled to welcome Henry, who will be an exceptional addition to the partnership with his sophisticated Greater China corporate experience, proven dedication to clients, commercial instincts, network and enthusiasm.” Yin focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions – including cross‐border and outbound investments – private equity, early and late-stage venture capital and growth investments, joint ventures, PIPEs, financings, going‐private transactions and other corporate matters associated with companies from the US, China and globally. He works with clients across many industries, including life sciences, technology, film, digital media, financial services, e‐commerce, software, hardware, education, manufacturing, consumer, logistics, automotive, real estate, reinsurance, pharmaceuticals and infrastructure. “I’ve had the great fortune of working opposite numerous Cooley partners through my years of practice,” Yin said. “The unifying culture, unparalleled momentum in targeted spaces and unique positioning for the new economy all make Cooley a very special platform. The firm’s reputation for first-class legal advice and collaborative teamwork has always been a draw, along with its preeminent global tech, high-growth industries and investment funds client base. I am eager to contribute to this dynamic platform and continue to empower innovators and investors, founders, financiers and visionaries.” Yin, a native Mandarin speaker, received his JD from Duke University School of Law. He started his legal career at the New York office of Skadden and was most recently a partner in the Hong Kong office of Kirkland & Ellis. Cooley expanded its Asia-Pacific presence with the launch of a Beijing office in January, following on the success of the firm’s Shanghai office, which opened in 2011. Cooley is fund formation counsel to 450+ fund organizations worldwide, including 50+ fund managers with their primary operations in China. It is the #1 law firm representing venture-backed companies going public for the last decade and advises 40% of US companies listed in Wall Street Journal’s Billion Dollar Startup Club. Cooley represents more than 6,000 high-growth private company clients.
Written by Jad on 01 August 2018.
♦ Recent Deals ♦ Beijing, China, Hong Kong
Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, announced today that the firm advised Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and China Merchant Securities as the joint sponsors in Ascletis Pharma’s US$400 million global offering and Hong Kong IPO, which is the first biotechnology company listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under Chapter 18A, the new chapter of the Listing Rules effective since April 2018 designed to attract early-stage biotech companies. The Paul Hastings team provided innovative legal advice and worked efficiently on the transaction that was completed in less than five months since the formal kick-off. Ascletis Pharma is a Chinese biotechnology company focusing on developing and commercializing innovative best-in-class drugs against Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV, and has a robust R&D pipeline with multiple breakthrough drug candidates. The Paul Hastings team was led by capital markets partners Nan Li and Steven Winegar, with support from associates Crystal Zhang, Ke Zhang, Erika Zhao and Berton Wang.
Written by Jad on 02 November 2017.
♦ Breaking BigLaw News ♦ China, Hong Kong
International law firm Bird & Bird LLP today announces a major co-operation agreement with AllBright Law Offices, one of China's top five domestic law firms. The co-operation agreement allows Bird & Bird to support AllBright's domestic clientbase with their international expansion ambitions, providing these companies with access to its 28 offices in 19 countries in Europe, the Middle East and the rest of Asia Pacific. The agreement likewise secures AllBright a base in the European market, with the firm opening its first international rep office out of Bird & Bird's City premises at 12 New Fetter Lane. This is the latest step in Bird & Bird's successful Asia-Pacific strategy, which has seen the firm launch in five Asia Pacific cities and enter into five co-op agreements with local firms in little over a decade. The firm has made 6 lateral partner hires in the region in the past 18 months alone, and has experienced a 46% increase in turnover when compared to the prior 18 month period. Bird & Bird has advised on a number of China outbound transactions in the past 18 months, not least Fosun Group's acquisition of Wolverhampton Wanderers which was named as 2016 Overseas Deal of the Year by China Business Law Journal. David Kerr, CEO of Bird & Bird, says: "There is a strong synergy between our vision – to be the number one law firm in the world for organisations being changed by technology and the digital world – and the ambitions of the many high-growth Chinese companies looking to expand internationally. We lead the international legal market in the tech, life sciences, renewable energy and space markets – and given these are areas that the PRC Government is committed to driving forward, we are excited to be able to help companies in these sectors recognise their international ambitions." Justin Walkey, Chairman of Asia Pacific at Bird & Bird, says: "I am very excited to be working alongside AllBright as we evolve our presence in the Chinese market. We have a strong China platform and our new relationship with AllBright will allow our global network to support the many Chinese companies expanding out into other international markets." Wu Mingde, Managing Partner of AllBright, says: "We need real capability and strong local law support outside of China to help our Chinese clients’ projects, investments, transactions and disputes in the UK and the rest of the world. Our agreement with Bird & Bird provides us with the perfect platform to achieve this."
Written by Jad on 17 August 2017.
♦ Moves News ♦ China, Shanghai
International law firm Simmons & Simmons has today announced the appointment of Matthew Durham, as a partner in the firm’s award-winning China employment practice, based in Shanghai. Matthew trained with Simmons & Simmons and qualified as a solicitor with the firm in 1998. He previously worked in the firm’s Shanghai office for many years, becoming a consultant in 2009. He now rejoins from Winston & Strawn where he was a partner based in its Shanghai and Beijing offices. Matthew has lived and worked in Shanghai since 1999 and has extensive experience advising international clients on labour, employment and corporate law issues in China. Clients he advises sit across a diverse range of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, retails and insurance, and he assists on all issues surrounding labour, including employment questions, separations, union matters, stock options and incentive schemes. Matthew’s rejoining is part of an expansion which Fiona Loughrey, head of employment in Asia, expects to result in a total of at least five new lawyers joining the Asia employment team in the period of August to December 2017. This growth will continue to strengthen the market leading international employment practice of the firm. The Asia based employment lawyers work as an integrated unit, supporting an international client base across the region. Julian Taylor, the firm’s international head of employment, commented: “Matthew’s extensive experience in labour issues, especially in mainland China, will undoubtedly help us to continuous to expand Simmons & Simmons’ employment practice in Asia Pacific. His long track record of advising firms and corporations on complex issues will add significant capability to address the employment and labour needs of our clients in the region.” Fiona Loughrey, head of employment in Asia, added: “Matthew’s rejoining is an extremely welcome development; he will be a valuable addition to our employment team. His experience across such a broad range of sectors, including pharmaceutical and medical devices, demonstrates our commitment to our sector focus as a firm.” On his move, Matthew said: “Having worked as a consultant at Simmons & Simmons previously, the opportunity to rejoin such an international firm is particularly attractive to me. I have closely observed the practice’s growth and expansion since its establishment by Fiona in 1999 and becoming part of such a strong employment team in the Asia Pacific region provides a very exciting opportunity.” Simmons & Simmons has been established in mainland China for over 30 years and maintains an enviable client base across its Asia offices. Its award-winning employment team is the largest of its type among international firms in Hong Kong and China. Clients include international investment banks, other financial institutions, government agencies and multinationals. The firm is well known for its experience in the most complex and strategic employment matters, with high-quality, award-winning lawyers, led by undisputed market-leaders. The firm recently expanded its Greater China corporate and commercial practice with partner Michael Chin joining from Hogan Lovells in July 2017 and Jingyuan Shi being promoted into the partnership as of 1 May 2017.
Written by Jad on 24 March 2017.
♦ Recent Deals ♦ Beijing, China, Hong Kong
Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Citigroup Global Markets Asia Limited and Macquarie Capital Limited as underwriters and joint sponsors of the IPO of Minsheng Education on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. The IPO raised HK$1.305 billion (US$168 million), with the listing on 22 March 2017. Minsheng Education is one of China's top-ten private providers of higher education. It owns and operates four undergraduate and junior colleges in the country and has also invested in private education institutions in other Asian countries. "Private education is one of the fastest growing markets in China; it is already worth around US$238 billion* with double-digit growth predicted year on year," said partner Matt Emsley, who led the team advising the underwriters. "We are very pleased to have worked with Citigroup, Macquarie and Minsheng Education on the deal." Partner Siddhartha Sivaramakrishnan advised on US securities law aspects of the transaction. "The Hong Kong market is enjoying a steady pipeline of quality offerings, generally in high-growth industries such as education," he said. Matt and Siddhartha were assisted by senior associates Charles Wang and Stanley Xie, and associates George Wu, Stephanie Chan and Ronald Hui in Hong Kong, and by associate Shell Chen in Beijing.