DEAL NEWS: Allen & Gledhill, Latham & Watkins, Shearman & Sterling and WongPartnership have advised on one of Asia’s biggest M&A deals this year – the US$4bn acquisition of Singapore’s Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing by Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC).
A team of Allen & Gledhill lawyers advised three parties on the deal. Lawyers Daren Shiau, Prawiro Widjaja and Song Su-Min advised longstanding clients Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing alongside Latham & Watkins’ Michael Sturrock who acted as international counsel. Partners Lee Kee Yeng and Lim Mei advised the sellers, Temasek Holdings, while partners Andrew Lim and Hilary Low advised the deal arrangers, Citigroup Global Markets. Allen & Gledhill and WongPartnership have most recently acted on the US$850 China Investment Corporation – Noble Group investment.
“Singapore is a relatively small market – and both of our firms … continue to have the largest market share in M&A transactions in Singapore, especially in major deals such as this acquisition,” said WongPartnership’s managing partner Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, who worked with firm partner Ng Eng Leng to advise ATIC. The firm worked closely with Shearman & Sterling partners John Wilson and Abu Dhabi-based James Comyn, who were assisted by a string of US and London-based Shearman lawyers.
The deal faced some major hurdles throughout the year – not only because of its high value in a challenging market, which helped it become the 9th biggest Asia-Pacific M&A deal this year by value. Sandrasegara said the deal indicated the market for M&As was picking up.
It also marks a second major investment by ATIC in the semiconductor industry this year, and is the start of further acquisitions it is considering, which may well prove fruitful for both WongPartnership and existing counsel Shearman & Sterling.
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