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Chris Milliken

Counsel

Chris provides quality service and good domain knowledge, and is prompt in response to client needs.

Chambers and Partners, Asia-Pacific 2023: Corporate/M&A

Profile details

About Chris Milliken

Chris Milliken is a Counsel in our Ho Chi Minh City office. Chris has a broad corporate and finance practice, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures, financing and capital markets transactions. He works across all our Asia offices and has deep experience of M&A trends and practice both in Vietnam and elsewhere. He has a particular interest in public deals/large-scale M&A, complex/structured investments and ESG matters.

Chris is a Vice Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam and is a member of the Vietnam Business Forum’s Capital Markets Working Group and the Investment and Trade Working Group.

Prior to joining Freshfields Vietnam, Chris trained and practised at another Magic Circle firm in London and Hong Kong. Chris qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales in September 2014.

Chris has taken lead roles on several high-profile transactions in Vietnam.

Recent work

  • Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation on strategic US$1.5bn investment in Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank. 
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group on various transactions, including the acquisition of a 49% stake in FE Credit – one of the largest consumer finance companies in Vietnam – for a reported consideration of over US$1.4 billion.
  • International investors on their US$250m investment by way of convertible bonds and non-convertible warrant-linked bonds issued by one of the leading public property development companies in Vietnam.
  • Quadria Capital on its investment in Con Cung, one of Vietnam’s leading mother and baby retailers.
  • CDH and Partners’ Group on the divestment of its investment in Golden Gate Group, a leading F&B company in Vietnam which currently owns 22+ brands and nearly 400 restaurants in 40 provinces throughout Vietnam.
  • A U.S. private equity investor on its US$370m pre-IPO investment in Techcombank, one of the largest commercial banks in Vietnam.
  • Mekong Capital on its investments in and divestments from various companies in the consumer, pharmaceutical, tech, property, healthcare and transport sectors.
  • A U.S. investment bank on the restructuring and further investment in a Vietnamese mobile money company.
  • A private equity fund on its acquisition of a stake in a large Vietnamese flower and plant distributor.
  • A private equity fund on its acquisition of a restaurant chain operator which operates 190 restaurants in major cities in Vietnam.
  • A UK multinational school investor on its acquisition of international schools in Vietnam and the establishment of an international school in Hanoi.
  • An alternative asset management firm on its divestment from a leading company in the agricultural sector.

Qualifications

Education

  • Graduated from Christ’s College, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
  • Completed the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course at BPP Law School, London.

Professional qualifications

  • Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.
  • Registered as a foreign legal practitioner with the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice.

Professional memberships

  • Vice Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce Vietnam.
  • A member of the Vietnam Business Forum’s Capital Markets Working Group and the Investment and Trade Working Group.

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