Perennially ranked as one of the world’s top advisers on mergers and acquisitions transactions, Davis Polk regularly counsels companies across all major industries throughout Asia, as well as those venturing into the region, on acquisitions, sales, strategic investments and joint ventures. While we have long been a go-to adviser on large and complex cross-border M&A transactions in Asia, in recent years we have increased the size and scope of our M&A practice in our Asian offices, building upon our local experience and knowledge as well as our substantial global platform. This added capacity has enabled us to work with an even broader array of clients in India, China, Japan and across the Pacific Rim, ranging from industry-leading multinationals as they expand their regional and global footprint to smaller, emerging companies seeking to position themselves as future market leaders.

• We were named “Asia-Pacific M&A Law Firm of the Year” at the Asia Pacific M&A Atlas Awards (2010).
  
  
• Davis Polk received a “China Law Award” nomination for “M&A Deal of the Year” (Shanda Interactive Entertainment – Hurray! Acquisition) in 2010 from Asian Legal Business.
  
  
• We were awarded “M&A Deal of the Year” at the Asian Legal Business Law Awards Japan in 2009.
  
  
• Davis Polk worked on the three largest-ever cross-border strategic investments in Chinese Banks (ICBC, Bank of China, Guangdong).

China

• AIG/AIA/Prudential. We advised the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in connection with AIG’s $35.5 billion unsuccessful sale of AIA, AIG’s Asian life insurance unit, to Prudential plc, a U.K.-based retail financial services company with operations in the U.K., Asia and U.S.
  
  
• China Investment Corporation/Bumi Resources. We advised China Investment Corporation (CIC), the Chinese sovereign wealth fund, in connection with its $1.9 billion investment in PT Bumi Resources Tbk, the largest coal mining company in Indonesia.
  
  
• Charles River Laboratories/WuXi PharmaTech. We advised Charles River Laboratories on its approximately $1.6 billion proposed acquisition of WuXi PharmaTech, a leading ONG research and development outsourcing company with operations in China and the United States.
  
  
• Noble Group/Sempra Energy Solutions. We advised Noble Group, a Hong Kong-based global supply chain manager in five business segments, on its $582 million acquisition of Sempra Energy Solutions, a San Diego, California-based retail power, energy and electricity utility and a unit of a Sempra Energy and RBS joint venture.
  
  
• Hejian Technology/United Microelectronics Corp. We advised Hejian Technology, a semiconductor foundry based in Suzhou, China, on a $285 million acquisition of 85% of the outstanding shares of the company by United Microelectronics Corp., the second-largest semiconductor foundry in the world.
  
  
• COFCO Limited/Smithfield. We advised COFCO Limited, China's largest national agricultural trading and processing company, in connection with its acquisition of 7,000,000 shares, or 4.95% of Smithfield's common stock. Smithfield is a leading processor and marketer of fresh pork and packaged meats in the United States, as well as the largest producer of hogs.
  
  
• Canon Investment Holdings/Altair Nanotechnologies. We are advising Canon Investment Holdings, a Zhuhai, China-based holding company for Yintong Energy, an advanced manufacturer of high-capacity and high-power lithium battery products, on its $48.9 million acquisition of a majority interest in Altair Nanotechnologies, a Reno, Nevada-based provider of fast response battery systems technology.
  
  
• Shanda/Hurray!/Ku6. We advised Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited, a Shanghai-based interactive entertainment media company, on its approximately $46.2 million acquisition of a 51% controlling interest in Hurray! Holding Co., Ltd., a Beijing-based Internet software and services company. We subsequently advised Hurray! on its acquisition of Ku6 Holding, an operator of an online video portal in China.

India

• Reliance Industries/Reliance Petroleum. We served as special U.S. counsel to Reliance Industries, a Mumbai, India-based oil and gas exploration and production company, in connection with its acquisition of the remaining 24.62% stake which it did not already own in Reliance Petroleum, an oil and has refiner based in India, for approximately $1.7 billion.
  
  
• Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners/Asian Genco. We advised a consortium of investors led by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners in connection with an investment of approximately US$425 million in Asian Genco Pte., a Singaporean infrastructure development company with investments in Indian power generation assets and engineering services businesses.
  
  
• Quadrangle Capital Partners/Tower Vision. We advised Quadrangle Capital Partners on a $300 million combined equity and debt financing by a Quadrangle-led consortium of private equity investors in Tower Vision, an Indian telecom tower management company based in Delhi and the second-largest telecom independent tower management company in India. This investment marks Quadrangle’s first transaction in Asia.
  
  
• Sodexo/RKHS. We advised Sodexo, a French food and facilities management services provider, on its acquisition of the Radhakrishna Hospitality Services Group, a food and facilities management services provider based in India. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
  
  
• Alliance Tire Group/GPX. We advised the Alliance Tire Group on its acquisition of the U.S. operations of GPX International Tire Corporation, including its U.S. assets, customer relationships and warehouse footprint, worldwide rights to the Galaxy and Primex brands, its medium radial truck tire distribution business and its South African subsidiary. Alliance is owned by India's Mahansaria family and Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm.
  
  
• BearingPoint. We advised McLean, Virginia-based BearingPoint, a global consulting firm, in connection with its $25 million sale of its North American Commercial Services business and associated Global Delivery Centers to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The transaction included a sale of BearingPoint's entire equity interest in BearingPoint Information Technologies (Shanghai) Limited, its wholly owned China global development center, and a sale by BearingPoint Business Consulting Pvt Ltd of substantially all of the assets of its India global development center.

Japan

• Nippon Mining/Nippon Oil. We advised Nippon Mining Holdings, a Japanese oil and gas refiner and marketer, in connection with its $11.8 billion merger of equals with Nippon Oil, a Japanese oil and gas refiner and marketer. The transaction created one of the world’s largest private sector oil companies and Japan’s third-largest company based on revenues. This deal was named the “Asia M&A Deal of the Year” at the 2011 IFLR Awards.
  
  
• Morgan Stanley/MUFG. We advised Morgan Stanley in connection with a $7.8 billion investment by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), a Tokyo-based international financial services provider, in Morgan Stanley.
  
  
• Morgan Stanley/MUFG. We are advising Morgan Stanley on the conversion by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) of convertible preferred stock into common stock of Morgan Stanley.
  
  
• Bertelsmann/Sony. We advised Bertelsmann, a German international media conglomerate, on the sale of its 50% interest in Sony BMG, a global recorded music joint venture created by Sony Corporation and Bertelsmann in 2004, to Sony Corporation, a consumer electronics manufacturer.
  
  
• Nikko Asset Management/Sumitomo Trust & Banking. We advised Nikko Asset Management, a Japanese investment management company, on its ¥112.4 billion acquisition by Sumitomo Trust and Banking, a Japanese bank.
  
  
• Japan Single-Residence REIT/Crescendo Investment. We advised Japan Single-Residence REIT in connection with its $389 million merger with Crescendo Investment. The newly formed entity has approximately $1.5 billion in assets under management.
  
  
• Shionogi/Sciele Pharma. We advised Shionogi & Co., a pharmaceutical firm headquartered in Osaka, Japan, on its $1.1 billion acquisition of Sciele Pharma, an Atlanta, Georgia-based midsize pharmaceutical company.
  
  
• Emerson/Nidec. We advised Emerson, a global technology company, in connection with the sale of its Motors and Appliance Controls businesses to Nidec, a Kyoto, Japan-based manufacturer of small precision motors.

Korea

• Webzen/NHN Games. We advised Webzen on its $214 million merger with NHN Games Co. Both companies are Korean developers and service providers of massively multiplayer online games.
  
  
• Polo Ralph Lauren/Doosan. We advised Polo Ralph Lauren, a designer, marketer and distributor of apparel, accessories and luxury goods, on its agreement to assume direct control of its wholesale and retail distribution in Korea, from its licensee, Doosan, beginning January 1, 2011.
  
  
• Nautilus Hyosung/Dover. We advised Nautilus Hyosung, a subsidiary of South Korea-based Hyosung Corporation and a global manufacturer of complete ATM solutions, including hardware, software and services to the entire ATM market, on its unsuccessful acquisition of Triton Systems of Delaware, a global provider of ATMs, from Dover Corporation, a global portfolio of manufacturing companies. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Southeast Asia

• China Investment Corporation/Bumi Resources. We advised China Investment Corporation (CIC), the Chinese sovereign wealth fund, in connection with its $1.9 billion investment in PT Bumi Resources Tbk, the largest coal mining company in Indonesia.
  
  
• Odebrecht Óleo e Gas/Temasek. We advised Odebrecht Óleo e Gas, a Brazilian integrated services company for the oil industry, on a $400 million investment in the company by Temasek, Singapore’s state investment company.
  
  
• Charoen Pokphand Group/Carlyle Asia Partners. We advised Charoen Pokphand Group, a Thai business conglomerate, on its sale of $175 million of convertible preference shares and options in its Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, C.P. Pokphand Co., to Carlyle Asia Partners III L.P., and its concurrent sale of up to $45 million of convertible preference shares in C.P. Pokphand to certain other investors.
  
  
• Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners/Asian Genco. We advised a consortium of investors led by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners in connection with an investment of approximately US$425 million in Asian Genco Pte., a Singaporean infrastructure development company with investments in Indian power generation assets and engineering services businesses.
  
  
• Heinz/Foodstar. We advised Heinz, one of the world’s leading marketers and producers of healthy, convenient and affordable foods, in connection with its $165 million acquisition of Foodstar, a Singaporean manufacturer of soy sauces and fermented bean curd in China, from Transpac Industrial Holdings, a private equity holding company, and various Transpac Funds.
  
  
• Warburg Pincus/QuEST Global Services. We advised Warburg Pincus on its approximately $75 million minority investment in QuEST Global Services, a provider of outsourced engineering service with delivery centers in India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Japan.
  
  
• Eramet/Weda Bay. We advised Eramet, a French-listed mining and metals company, in connection with its sale to Mitsubishi Corporation, a worldwide general trading company based in Tokyo, Japan, of a 34% stake in its Weda Bay nickel and cobalt mining project, an Indonesian mining project.
  
  
• Polo Ralph Lauren/Dickson Concepts. We advised Polo Ralph Lauren, a designer, marketer and distributor of apparel, accessories and luxury goods, on its agreement to assume direct control of its wholesale and retail distribution in Southeast Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, from its licensee, Dickson Concepts International Limited.

Private Equity