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  • September 28, 2011 |

    US quartet lead on $1.6bn Asia tech deal

    Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Goodwin Procter, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Debevoise & Plimpton have advised on a deal which has seen a consortium of investors offer $1.6bn (£1bn) for a stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, writes The Asian Lawyer. The consortium includes Silicon Valley private equity firm Silver Lake Technology Management, Moscow-based venture capital group Digital Sky Technologies (DST) Global, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings and Yunfeng Capital, an investment group led by Alibaba founder and chief executive officer Jack Ma. If the consortium's tender offer is fully subscribed, the consortium will acquire slightly less than 5% of the company, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

    1 minute read

  • September 28, 2011 |

    Cracking China – has Mandarin become de rigueur for modern Asian counsel?

    For would-be new hires at several international law firms in China and Hong Kong, speaking Mandarin has come to be a strict and unyielding prerequisite. "Certainly from our point of view, hiring someone in Hong Kong without Chinese language speaking skills is a waste of time," says Antony Dapiran, a fluent Mandarin speaker and capital markets partner with Davis Polk & Wardwell in Hong Kong. "I honestly do not see how they can function, especially if they are dealing with capital markets work."

    1 minute read

  • September 23, 2011 |

    Wachtell and Jones Day lead on $18.4bn aircraft manufacturing buyout

    Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Jones Day have taken lead roles on the $18.4bn (£11.9bn) acquisition of aircraft equipment maker Goodrich by United Techonologies Corporation (UTC), a deal that marks the conglomerate's largest-ever acquisition, reports The Am Law Daily. UTC is being advised by longstanding outside counsel Wachtell on the deal, which will see it pay $127.50 (£83) per Goodrich share in cash to acquire the target company and assume $1.9bn (£1.2bn) in debt.

    1 minute read

  • September 23, 2011 |

    Clifford Chance moves to restock City funds team with Debevoise hire

    Clifford Chance (CC) has added a partner to its City funds capability with the hire of international counsel Gerard Saviola from the London office of US firm Debevoise & Plimpton. Saviola, who will join CC as a partner in the firm's private funds group, is US-qualified and advises mainly leveraged buyout funds, emerging markets funds and mezzanine funds, as well as a broad range of institutional investors in international investment funds and private equity acquisitions.

    1 minute read

  • September 15, 2011 |

    How the top international law firms stack up in Asia

    Clifford Chance: 366 lawyers across eight offices. Hong Kong - 138 lawyers including 32 partners, Singapore - 72 lawyers including 15 partners, Tokyo - 51 lawyers including nine partners, Shanghai - 22 lawyers including five partners, Beijing - 29 lawyers including six partners, Bangkok - 16 lawyers including two partners Sydney - 21 lawyers including seven partners Perth - 17 lawyers including seven partners Key deals include: • advising the underwriters on Prada's Hong Kong listing; • advising the underwriters on Glencore's dual listing in Hong Kong and London; and • advising the managers on Volkswagen's dim sum bond - the first by a German company.

    1 minute read

  • September 14, 2011 |

    Battle royale - the tussle for global dominance shifts eastward

    With elite Wall Street firms finally breaking into Hong Kong law, the stage is set for a high-stakes struggle across Asia between the world's top law firms. Georgina Stanley and Simon Petersen report

    1 minute read

  • September 8, 2011 |

    Vinson elects new managing partner and first-ever chairman

    US energy leader Vinson & Elkins has elected a new managing partner and the first chairman in its history, writes the AmLaw Daily. Scott Wulfe, a corporate partner in Vinson's Houston office, will begin a two-year term as managing partner in January, while Mark Kelly, a capital markets partner also based in Houston, will start his own two-year term as the top 50 US law firm's first chairman at the same time.

    1 minute read

  • September 7, 2011 |

    A waste of money - is the bonus round at top US firms just money down the drain?

    US law firms are conditioned to doling out tightly banded 'follow-the-leader' bonus awards to associates. But, argues Amy Kolz, there is little evidence this practice reflects market reality or even buys them any staff loyalty

    1 minute read

  • August 22, 2011 |

    Cleary opens new LatAm base with partner relocations to Sao Paulo

    Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has opened for business in Sao Paulo after receiving approval to launch from the Brazilian authorities. Capital markets partner Juan Giraldez and corporate finance partner Francisco Cestero have relocated from New York and Rome respectively to head up the new base.

    1 minute read

  • August 12, 2011 |

    CC boosts London high-yield practice with New York partner relocation

    Clifford Chance (CC) is set to strengthen its London high-yield offering with the relocation of a partner from New York.Tony Lopez will become the fifth partner with capacity to advise on high yield deals in the firm's Canary Wharf team, which also has 14 associates.

    1 minute read