Shanghai Office

Sidley has long recognized the importance of having a presence in Shanghai, being one of the largest cities in the P.R.C. and widely regarded as the center of mainland China's modern economy, serving as an important city for commerce, finance and industry. Established in 1999, Sidley’s Shanghai office works closely with our offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, London and the U.S. to offer a wide range of services to clients involved in China-related business. Legal professionals resident in the Shanghai office are part of our combined China team that includes more than 90 legal professionals who are qualified to practice Hong Kong, English and U.S. law and have experience in a comprehensive range of transactional matters in China.

Capital Markets: Our corporate finance group is one of the largest and most active teams in Hong Kong. We have a strong capital markets practice in Hong Kong focusing on public and private offerings in debt and equity securities. In recent years, we have handled more than 170 IPOs on the SEHK. Between January 2013 and February 2014, Sidley completed 11 IPOs on the SEHK and was named as number one international law firm (tied) advising on Hong Kong IPOs based on the number of transactions (The Lawyer, March 2014). As we practice Hong Kong, English, U.S. and Singapore law, we are also qualified to work on dual listings and other cross-border securities transactions. We have extensive experience in SEC-registered offerings as well as listings on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, the London Stock Exchange, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, the Singapore Exchange and, in conjunction with local advisers, stock exchanges in Jakarta and Korea. We also have a well-regarded debt capital markets practice, including a top-tier high yield debt capital markets practice, as recognized by the key legal directories. Since January 2010, Sidley has been counsel to issuers and underwriters on 50 high yield debt capital markets transactions in Asia Pacific approximately, totaling more than US$22 billion.

Mergers & Acquisitions: Our corporate finance lawyers in Hong Kong also represent acquirers, targets and financial advisers in the structuring, negotiation and financing of domestic and cross-border M&A transactions across multiple industries. We regularly represent private and public companies in connection with acquiring minority and majority interests in domestic corporations, as well as representing clients with respect to their interests in business entities outside the region. In cross-border transactions, we often advise clients in all matters related to their M&A, including financing, joint venture agreements, international trade, litigation and regulatory and compliance issues (including CFIUS matters in the U.S.). Several M&A transactions on which we have worked are award-winning or have been named “Deal of the Year”. In addition, Sidley serves clients in all issues faced by private equity, venture capital and hedge funds in the acquisition, financing and disposition of portfolio companies. The firm has extensive experience in the structuring and negotiation of private equity, venture capital and M&A transactions.

Private Equity: Our Private Equity lawyers in Hong Kong advise clients on every aspect of a broad range of domestic and cross-border private equity transactions, including leveraged buyouts, going-private transactions, growth capital investments, venture capital investments, PIPEs and a variety of other acquisitions and financings. We represent private equity sponsors, the private equity arms of financial institutions and other organizations, and hedge funds in these matters. In addition, we regularly advise private equity sponsored portfolio companies, assisting them in all their legal needs, including add-on acquisitions, financings, recapitalizations, investments, liquidity events and other extraordinary transactions.

Investment Funds: Our investment funds practice is one of the largest funds groups of any law firm in Hong Kong and one of the most recognized in the region. The team has won several awards and is ranked top-tier, as listed by the leading, independent legal publications. We also have a proven track record of working on some of the most innovative and ground-breaking funds transactions in recent years. The team covers the full spectrum of investment fund matters and a comprehensive range of related services spanning hedge fund formation, private equity fund formation, real estate fund formation, regulatory and compliance matters as well as downstream investment.

Dispute Resolution and Regulatory: Sidley’s dispute resolution and regulatory team has been consistently ranked among the top contentious practices in Hong Kong. The team handles corporate and commercial disputes related to insolvency, construction, insurance, life sciences, shipping, international trade, IP and employment matters through litigation or arbitration. The team also provides advice on regulatory and compliance issues, including those related to privacy, data protection, payments, FCPA matters and other corporate investigations.

Finance: In Hong Kong, our finance lawyers offer a wide range of legal services related to structured finance, asset-based finance, syndicated and leveraged finance. We have extensive experience with every major asset class and many esoteric asset classes, company representations, real estate finance and REITs, workouts and restructurings transactions. Our finance lawyers have worked on some of the most significant finance transactions in the industry.

Project Finance: We also work on numerous finance projects including those related to infrastructure, energy, power, alternative generation, transmission, oil and gas pipelines, biofuels, gas-to-liquids, petrochemicals, metals and mining, transportation and telecommunications. The team represents project sponsors, senior and subordinated lenders, equity investors, construction contractors and service providers. 

Energy: In the energy arena, we represent clients in virtually every aspect of the industry, including upstream oil and gas developers, oilfield service companies, pipelines, electric utilities, merchant electric transmission companies, independent power producers, alternative energy developers, suppliers and contractors, energy trading companies, and the financial institutions that serve companies in all of these industry segments.