Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Drawing upon ‘deep market knowledge’ gleaned over many years’ experience in the market, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP provides ’an excellent work quality’ for a GP-focused client base establishing large pan-Asian buyout funds to smaller sector- or country-specific funds, including RMB-denominated funds. Praised for his ‘ability to break down complex problems into smaller bite sized pieces’, Gavin Anderson, who now splits his time between the firm’s Hong Kong and London, has, alongside vastly experienced of counsel Andrew Ostrognai, been instrumental in developing the firm’s high-calibre private equity offering which is adept at advising all aspects of fund formation, capital raising and closing. Anderson co-heads the team alongside Shawn Yang, who as well as his GP fund formation work is also regularly active on secondaries and select investor-side representations. Mai Shapiro rounds out the team and provides the relevant US tax advice pursuant to both fund formation and subsequent downstream activity.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'They have deep market knowledge, an agile thought process and provide an excellent work quality.'
- 'The excellent Gavin Anderson has the ability to break down complex problems into smaller bite sized pieces, and deliver practical advice.'
- 'Debevoise & Plimpton is our go-to law firm for investments funds work. They have a very deep-bench of excellent lawyers in Hong Kong and across their international network, and really understand the funds space and how to help their clients achieve their objectives efficiently.'
- 'The very experienced Mai Shapiro provides impeccable advice.'
- 'Gavin Anderson is one of the best investment funds lawyers in Asia. He impresses with his formidable knowledge of market practice as well as legal/regulatory developments, and his ability to help clients seamlessly navigate complex fundraisings.'
- 'Great knowledge of the market. Very responsive and innovative.'
Key clients
- Advantage Partners
- Ally Bridge Group
- BPEA EQT
- CDH Investments
- Committed Advisors
- HarbourVest Partners
- Lightspeed India Partners
- Morgan Stanley
- Navis Capital
- Sequoia Capital
- TPG NewQuest
- True North
Work highlights
- Advised BPEA EQT on the structuring, formation and fundraising of their eighth pan-Asian flagship fund, one of the largest Asian private equity funds ever raised by an Asia-based sponsor (c. US$11 billion), which exceeded its initial target size.
- Advised Pantheon in a single-asset GP-led secondary project with Hosen Capital involving an indirect acquisition of Kilcoy Foods.
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Leading individuals
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Gavin Anderson is based in the Hong Kong office and is a member of the firm’s Investment Funds and Investment Management Group. He has broad experience in advising sponsors and investors on a variety of issues, including fund formation, co-investment and carried interest arrangements. Mr. Anderson’s recent experience includes acting for clients such as Baring Private Equity Asia, CDH Investments, Clearwater Capital, HarbourVest, Morgan Stanley, Navis Capital Partners, Southern Capital and Quilvest..
Next Generation Partners
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Gavin Anderson, Shawn Yang