Ropes & Gray’s Expanding Asia Private Equity Team Handles More Than US$14 Billion in Announced Transactions During the Past Year
Firm Ranked #1 by Private Equity Analyst for Fund Formation
Building on the firm’s reputation as a leading U.S. private equity law firm, Ropes & Gray’s team of Asia-based private equity lawyers has handled announced transactions valued at more than US$14 billion during the last 12 months, including nearly US$8 billion in deals since September 2011.
Demonstrating the breadth of the firm’s capabilities in Asia, the Ropes & Gray team has advised global private equity mega funds and investment banks such as Bain Capital, TPG and Goldman Sachs, as well as prominent regional funds, including Baring Private Equity, Ascendant Capital Partners, RRJ, Citic Private Equity and FountainVest, on market-leading M&A, debt financing and fundraising transactions encompassing multiple industries, geographies and deal structures.
M&A and financing highlights include:
- Advising Bain Capital in the following transactions:
- The US$3.2 billion leveraged buyout of Japanese restaurant chain Skylark, the largest foreign investment in Japan in 2011 and the largest PE LBO in Japan since the onset of the global financial crisis.
- Two financing transactions in Japan with an aggregate deal value of more than US$2 billion.
- The US$1.25 billion leveraged buyout of MYOB, Australia’s largest business software developer.
- The US$489 million sale of PRC-based portfolio company Feixiang Chemicals to Rhodia S.A.
- The combined US$365 million sales of PRC-based portfolio companies Hipro Polymers and CASDA Biomaterials to Arkema Asie S.A.
- Advising TPG in the proposed LBO of NASDAQ-listed Fushi Copperweld, Inc.
- Advising China GrenTech in its proposed going-private transaction.
- Advising companies in their investments in the life sciences and technology space across Asia, totaling more than $1.2 billion over the last 12 months.
- Advising TPG Capital portfolio company Nexeo Solutions LLC, in an innovative joint venture with the executives of Beijing PlasChem, a leading PRC distributor of specialty chemicals and plastics.
- Advising Quanta Computer in its joint venture with the 3M Company.
Ropes & Gray’s Shanghai-based funds formation team also advised on committed fundraisings — both RMB and U.S. dollar funds — worth more than US$4.5 billion. Ropes & Gray is one of the few U.S. law firms with experience counseling investment funds in the establishment of RMB funds in China, as well as representing domestic RMB-based Chinese fund managers in setting up their first USD funds.
Ropes & Gray’s PE team in Asia includes eight partners across its Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo offices with a combined 62 years of dealmaking experience in Asia. All of our Asia-based partners have been recognized by Chambers as leaders in their fields. The recently released 2012 Chambers Asia guide ranked each of the following partners:
- Tsuyoshi Imai (Tokyo, Private Equity) and
- Arthur Mok (Shanghai, Private Equity)
The 2012 Chambers Asia guide also recognized and ranked Ropes & Gray as a firm in the following practices:
- Asia-Pacific: “Corporate/M&A: Private Equity”
- China: “Corporate/M&A: High-end Capability (International Firms)”
- China: “Investment Funds: Private Equity (International Firms)”
- China: “Investment Funds: RMB Fund Formation (International Firms),” and
- China: “Private Equity: Buyouts (International Firms)”
Dow Jones’ Private Equity Analyst released its law firm rankings this month, naming Ropes & Gray the top-ranked firm for number of funds closed in 2011.
Since the opening of its Tokyo office in 2007, Ropes & Gray has invested heavily in its development and expansion across Asia, opening in Hong Kong in 2008 and Shanghai in 2011. As part of its ongoing commitment to deliver world-class service to clients throughout Asia, Ropes & Gray announced on March 6 that it has submitted an application to open an office in Seoul, Korea.