The team at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP displays deep experience across the full spectrum of private equity matters, including international and regional investments, distressed M&A, and spin-offs. The team advises a number of family offices, and both international and Asia-based sovereign wealth and pension funds on auctions, exits, and PIPEs. Tim Gardner leads the team, primarily acting for financial sponsors and private equity firms in IPOs and cross-border deals. Chris Welty is noted for his vast experience in take private transactions involving public North American companies. Welty also frequently handles numerous leveraged and managed buyouts for a range of strategic corporate clients. ‘Great mind’ Sandy Lin advises a range of private equity sponsors and sovereign wealth funds on restructuring issues and minority investments. Counsel Jie Yuan is noted for her expertise in LBOs and growth equity investments.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP has excellent business capabilities in the private equity field and can provide very professional advice. They can provide us with valuable legal opinions and suggestions in a timely and efficient manner, and they are a professional team we trust very much.’
‘Tim Gardner and Sandy Lin are our regular partners. These two are very professional in this field, have business sense, and actively protect and correct the rights and interests of clients.’
‘Sandy Lin is very down to the earth, could walk in the shoes of her clients.’
‘Tim Gardner is a very active and dedicated lawyer, and Sandy Lin is a great mind who can provide to-the-point and useful solutions to complicated situations.’
‘Working with Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP has been a remarkable experience from start to finish. In every single interaction, their team was responsive and thoughtful, from associates through to partners, and they consistently went above and beyond to deliver a complex project across multiple time zones and jurisdictions.’
‘Everyone I interacted with at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP demonstrated unparalleled levels of professionalism, preparedness, and clarity of communication. Of all the professional services I've engaged with while running international organisations, these attributes made this engagement by far the most seamless and enjoyable.’
‘The team led by Sandy Lin was most knowledgeable, professional, and efficient. Highly impressed with the quality of their work, and the thoughts that went into crafting framework and contracts.’
‘Sandy Lin, most knowledgeable, and sharpest legal mind we've encountered in this part of the world.’

Key clients

Alibaba Group
BPEA EQT (formerly known as Baring Private Equity Asia)
CBC Group (formerly C-Bridge Capital)
Citigroup Asia
FountainVest Partners
Gores Guggenheim Inc.
Hillhouse Capital
Lazada Group
Co-founder and CEO of 51job, Inc.
MBK Partners
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board
PAG
Primavera Capital
Public Sector Pension Investment Board
TPG Capital Asia
TPG Growth

Work highlights

Represented of Baring Private Equity Asia in the sale of HCP Packaging to Carlyle.
Represented the co-founder and CEO of 51job, Inc. in the $4.3 bn take-private of 51job, Inc. by a buyer consortium, consisting of the client, Recruit Holdings, DCP Capital Partners and Ocean Link Partners.
Represented the Alibaba Group and its portfolio company, Lazada, in a minority investment by Lazada to enable deeper alignment and closer collaboration between Lazada and TNG Digital through various joint initiatives.