Feature | Asia’s Leading M&A firms >>
Teresa Ko Firm: Freshfields Location: Hong Kong • The firm’s China managing partner, Ko specialises in private and public mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganisations and private equity work • Lead partner acting for China Unicom on its US$23.8bn merger with China Netcom and its US$6.42bn disposal of its CDMA business to China Netcom
Theodore Paradise Firm: Davis Polk & Wardwell Location: Japan • A specialist cross-border M&A lawyer focusing on corporate finance, representing issuers and underwriters in global and US-targeted securities offerings by Japanese issuers. • Lead partner for Nikko Asset Management’s sale from Citi to Sumitomo for US$1.26bn
Tran Tuan Phong Firm: VILAF Hong-Duc Location: Vietnam • Partner-in-charge of the firm’s Hanoi office, practices across a range of M&A and corporate matters • Lead partner on US$1.8bn GTel joint venture – the first telecommunications JV in Vietnam – and the acquisition of Alcatel Lucent’s operations in Vietnam
Tuti Hadiputranto Firm: Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners Location: Indonesia • Firm’s founding partner and senior partner in its securities practice/capital markets group • Lead partner of two of Indonesia’s largest deals in 2008/09: PT Bakrie & Brothers’ US$5.5bn acquisition of three companies and the US$10.2bn merger of PT Bank Lippo and PT Bank Niaga
Wonkyu Han Firm: Lee & Ko
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“That’s the difficulty of being an external lawyer,” said the AsiaPacific legal head of the largest global computer company. “In Asia, there are things like competition laws, corporate compliance and FCPA issues which are worrying for us. We need to be kept up to speed on these [developments] and it doesn’t necessarily need to be done in the context of a transaction.” “[This information] can, and should be, offered by law firms to us as it comes to hand … I think this is a vital part of the value-add that a firm must offer to be competitive in this practice area.” But it’s something that is all-too commonly handled incorrectly by both large and small firms alike. “Some law firms seem to have confused regulatory updates and other such communiqués for spam,” says the US-based general counsel of a pharmaceutical company. “I’ve usually got five or six large projects on the boil in Asia at any one time and I don’t have the time to read emails which claim to be delivering ‘important’ updates, but then only give a snippet of information with something directing the unwitting recipient of the email to ‘contact x or y partner for further information’. This wastes my time.” Other legal practitioners concur. “The marketing efforts of merger and acquisition practices that are most effective are those that deliver commercially smart advice and
which show that the lawyers have an understanding the most important issues affecting individual sectors,” says a senior in-house lawyer at a domestic bank in Malaysia. “When I get an email, letter or something similar like this, I am 100% more likely to call the firm who sent it for a quick chat, rather then just deleting it and forgetting about it.”
Selection criteria
It is not surprising to learn that ‘commercially oriented’ advice is again listed as one of the top criteria taken into consideration, when in-house legal teams are selecting outside counsel. Similarly, in-house lawyers and business leaders note that there was more of a tendency to go to individuals rather than firms – on big and small deals alike. This is only fitting then, that ALB has provided a snapshot of the region’s 25 most in-demand dealmakers. But just what separates these individuals from others in the market? Survey respondents cite a wide array of factors including technical expertise, industry and market knowledge, quality of advice and accessibility as the most important factors that come into consideration in this area. Many respondents also add the qualities of leadership and the depth of the lead lawyers’ team, as critical considerations in their selection of external counsel. “Apart from the things one would
Location: Korea
►► Legal advisors to SE Asian M&A 1H09: by value
• Practice areas cover M&A as well as structured finance, securities and derivatives, corporate finance and private equity • Lead partner on G&A KBIC PE funds US$214m acquisition of a controlling stake in E*Trade Korea Securities, and on a legal team which helped close the US$2.3bn leveraged buyout of C&M Co
Rank
Firm
Value (US$m)
Deal Count
1
Allen & Gledhill
3,749
7
1
2
Skadden
3,300
1
4
3
WongPartnership
2,937
5
9
4
Shearman & Sterling
2,295
2
63
5
Freshfields
2,267
1
91
Y/E 2008 rank
Asian Legal Business ISSUE 9.9