18 February 2004

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer tops M&A league tables for second year in a row

International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has again secured its position as the top M&A legal advisor in Asia Pacific in the recent M&A Asia league tables.  The firm ranked first for completing the highest number of M&A deals, with 43 completed transactions, and third for value of completed deals in 2003.  Freshfields were also number one by value of international transactions (where targets are outside Asia) and were placed second in terms of having the widest coverage (where transactions occurred in the highest number of Asian countries).

“The flood of M&A deals at the end of last year was very encouraging for Asia’s economy; further M&A activity in this market should definitely be anticipated”, explained Robert Ashworth, partner and head of the firm’s corporate practice group in Asia. “Despite a sluggish start to the year in M&A activity, the league table results were an excellent accomplishment for the firm and it is a great testament to the team in Asia to have done so well in the league tables.”

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer completed a number of deals last year, including the recent US$278m sale of Fortis Bank Hong Kong’s retail and commercial banking operations to ICBC Asia; China Unicom’s acquisition of nine provincial GSM networks from its parent for US$1.36bn, and the disposal of its paging network business (Guoxin Paging Corp) to its parent for US$355m; and Wing Hang Bank’s US$613m acquisition of Chekiang First Bank’s issued capital from Mizuho Corporate Bank.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer also topped the recent annual Thomson Financial M&A league tables in Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) for 2003.  The firm ranked number one in the league tables for both announced and completed deals and also advised on 38 announced deals valued at US$15.97bn and 34 completed deals valued at US$6.11bn – capturing 16.2 per cent of the overall market for deals announced in 2003.

Notes for editors

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is a leading international law firm providing a comprehensive worldwide service to national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments.

We are widely recognised as having a truly international reputation as a market leader in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and cross-border transactions. Our experience in Asia spans 20 years, encompassing both private and public M&A and acting for purchasers, sellers, financial advisors and investors in a broad range of industries and sectors around the region. The Hong Kong office was established in 1985. There are 18 partners and over 96 lawyers, 41 of whom are locally qualified, practising both English and Hong Kong law, and advising on projects in China. The office also has 20 lawyers qualified to advise on US law.

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