LAW firm Wong Partnership is on a roll, riding a wave of takeovers by global investors keen on companies with operations in China, and by China itself as it moves to secure assets, especially natural resources, around the world.
In addition, economic uncertainties have reduced the prices of many companies, fuelling mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
Ng Wai King, who heads the M&A practice at Wong Partnership, says that while markets have come down, he sees no let-up in transactions.
Foreign work now makes up 20 per cent for Wong Partnership, which by next month will have 240 lawyers and consultants, up 40 per cent or 70 more fee earners from a year ago.
The firm recently opened its third foreign office, in Abu Dhabi, in addition to its offices in Doha and Shanghai.
In the first quarter of 2008, being an adviser in the US$14.3 billion Rio Tinto deal, advising on deals worth US$19.6 billion, catapulted Wong Partnership to No 17 in a worldwide ranking of legal advisers on M&As, according to Thomson Financial. It topped the table of legal advisers for Asia ex-Japan.
For the whole of 2007, Wong Partnership advised on deals worth US$13.6 billion and ranked 23rd in Asia ex-Japan.
Wong Partnership advised the Singapore vehicle set up by Alcoa Inc, which teamed up with state-owned Aluminum Corp of China to buy a US$14 billion stake in Australia's Rio Tinto, the world's third-biggest mining company.
Mr Ng said that Wong Partnership was introduced as legal adviser to the Rio Tinto deal through major New York law firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.
Earlier this year, Wong Partnership also advised Best Decade Holdings which sold up to 51 per cent, worth about $1 billion, of China-based steel product maker Delong Holdings to Russian steel and mining giant Evraz.
Mr Ng said that a trend continuing from last year is that of private equity firms looking for Singapore-listed companies that have operations in China.
'They find that doing a deal in China is not so easy or straightforward, so they come to Singapore and Australia,' he said.
The current credit volatility may present some funding issues, such as lowering the amount of leverage and returns, but this does not deter the larger private equity outfits, Mr Ng said.
'Private equity will still be there - they have raised funds which they must spend,' he said. 'Singapore offers the right platform, the economic and legal framework is right and a good range of banks here understand what they want and can support them.'
Last week, US private equity firms Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co were among several reported to be in an $800 million bidding war for Singapore disk drive component maker Unisteel Technology, which has several plants in China.
Wong Partnership is providing legal advice to one of the parties in the tussle for Unisteel, Mr Ng said.
This article was first published in The Business Times on May 8, 2008
