Morrison & Foerster
Morrison & Foerster houses a team which is praised for its ‘deep bench of talent', regularly handling transactions within a myriad of sectors, including e-commerce, fintech, and online gaming. The ’outstanding' practice is co-led by Marcia Ellis and Thomas Chou. Ellis is noted for her vast expertise in assisting financial investors with investments, joint ventures, and the setting up of SPACs. Chou regularly handles minority investments, in addition to advising on seed extension funding issues. The ‘excellent' Maureen Ho has ample knowledge of bolt-on acquisitions, and both public and private mergers.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Marcia Ellis has become the best business builder in Asia law firms. Maureen Ho is an excellent young partner.'
- 'I commend Marcia Ellis for building an outstanding M&A practice. They are thoughtful, engaged with a deep bench of talent across junior and senior levels. They took on a complex deal for us and did an outstanding job on a structured China transaction.'
- 'We work mainly with Thomas Chou in HK, he is always highly responsive, can handle any issue that comes his way with a practical solution, and is professional and organized in closing transactions for us.'
- 'We are impressed by the depth of their team and their experience, including their understanding of the market.'
- 'Given their long term experience across numerous deal cycles, their advice on structuring investments amidst a challenging fundraising environment is particularly valuable. This is above and beyond what we normally expect from our lawyers.'
Key clients
- Ark Pacific Capital
- Ally Bridge Group
- Alibaba Group
- Affirma Capital Managers (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
- Ascendent Capital Partners
- Bain Capital Credit
- BlackRock
- C2 Capital
- Celadon Partners
- Farallon Capital Asia
- GLP
- Intudo Ventures
- Hony Capital
- Macquarie
- PAGAC Tea Holdings I Ltd.
- NewQuest Capital Partners
- Prax Capital
- Princeton Digital Group
- Serenity Capital
- SoftBank Group Corp
- SoftBank Vision Fund
- Silver Crest Acquisition Corp.
- Vectr Ventures
Work highlights
- Advised SoftBank Group Corp. and SoftBank Vision Fund on their acquisition of a substantial interest in Arm China, as a necessary step enabling the planned listing of Arm Limited.
- Advised Silver Crest Acquisition Corporation, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company established by the principals of Ascendent Capital Partners, in connection with its successful completion of US$1.4 bn business combination with TH International Limited, a franchisee and operator of Tim Hortons coffee shops in China.
- Represented Ally Bridge Group in various growth, late stage and public life sciences investments across the US and Europe, including as lead investor in connection with the $101 m Series B financing of Endeavor BioMedicines, a clinical-stage biotechnology company targeting the core drivers of terminal diseases including oncology and fibrosis.
Lawyers
Leading individuals
Next Generation Partners
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Marcia Ellis, Thomas Chou