The ‘very knowledgeable’ Derek Poon leads the ‘well-rounded’ team at Baker McKenzie, which leverages its relationship with Fenxun to handle the full range of private equity issues. Poon is recommended for his vast knowledge of distressed M&A, while Xinxing Chen is noted for advising on LBOs and deals involving Chinese companies. Robert Wright is a key name for leveraged M&A transactions, co-investment mandates, and exits. Vivian Choi routinely assists both Chinese and international corporate and private equity clients with strategic investments and joint ventures.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The responsiveness, professionalism and knowledge of the business sector are the teams strengths and key capabilities.’

  • ‘Very reliable team, work under tight timetable with very impressive responsiveness, attention to details, and commercial acumen. ’

  • ‘Derek Poon and Xinxing Chen - their exceptional skills, energy and patience to manage a complex, multi-party and lengthy negotiation process and balance demands of each party, have created tremendous value.’

  • ‘We use Baker McKenzie in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. We find that the integrated service invaluable. The breadth of services which Baker McKenzie is able to offer in local markets is significant - they offer an excellent, full service which is extremely useful and also a considerable differentiator.’

  • ‘Robert Wright - We have confidence in his abilities and he goes the extra mile to help us with getting appropriate support across the region.’

  • ‘Well-rounded firm with good M&A practice. Private equity coverage has been built up and is good. Significant presence in all relevant markets across Asia Pacific is a strength and demonstrates their commitment to the region.’

  • ‘Tracy Wut has a lot of M&A experience and gets very involved in deals.’

  • ‘Derek Poon is very knowledgeable, particularly on private equity deals.’

Key clients

  • AGIC
  • APG
  • Bain Capital
  • CBC Group
  • CDPQ
  • CMC Capital
  • CPP
  • Davidson Kempner
  • DigitalBridge
  • EQT Private Equity
  • Gaw Capital
  • Global Infrastructure Partners
  • M3 Capital Partners
  • New Frontier
  • Nexus Point
  • Taiko Labs
  • Vitruvian Partners
  • BGO
  • Aztiq
  • TA Associates

Work highlights

  • Advised M3 Capital Partners on the divestment of its global private equity advisory business to GLP Capital Partners.
  • Advising EQT Private Equity and other selling shareholders on the sale of their interests in the DataFlow Group to Arcapita Group Holdings Limited.
  • Advising Subway on its new master franchise agreement with Shanghai Fu-Rui-Shi Corporate Development Co., Ltd., which is funded by a consortium of private equity investors.

Lawyers

Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Derek Poon

Other key lawyers

Robert Wright, Xinxing Chen, Vivian Choi, Tracy Wut