OUR RANKINGS

Our rankings are based on the following metrics:
• The volume, complexity and size of work undertaken
• Presence across Asia and in individual jurisdictions
• Key personnel hires and growth of the practice group
• Key clients and new client wins
• Firm’s visibility and profile in the region

The research covered the period spanning from July 2014 to July 2015. This included both ongoing work and matters that were closed during this timeframe.

ALB drew results from law firm submissions, Thomson Reuters M&A data, interviews, editorial resources and market suggestions to identify and rank the top firms for M&A in Asia.

The 12 months ranging from July 2014 to July 2015 saw a marked uptick in M&A activity in the Asia-Pacific region, with numerous multi-billion dollar deals filling the coffers of banks and law firms alike. In the first half of 2015, announced M&A volume in the region (excluding Japan) hit $590.1 billion, a whopping 74 percent rise compared to $339.2 billion in the first half of 2014, according to Thomson Reuters. This boom can be linked to the strong cash positions held by Asian companies, cheaper asset valuations in overseas markets, and a ravenous appetite for expansion.

The real estate and high-technology sectors led the Asian market in the first half of 2015, with deal volume reaching $83.7 billion and $83.2 billion, respectively. The telecommunications industry witnessed the most significant increase in activity, reaching $73 billion in deal volume, from just $6.8 billion during the same period in 2014. This spike was primarily driven by two major deals: Cheung Kong Holdings’ $45.4 billion acquisition of the remaining 50.035 percent stake it did not already owner in Hutchison Whampoa, and Hutchison Whampoa’s $15.4 billion acquisition of Telefonica’s O2 PLC.

Southeast Asia still holds high growth potential, despite a recent dip in activity and adverse local currency valuations. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region is poised for economic expansion, boasting encouraging growth rates, attractive manufacturing costs and a burgeoning middle class. An important development is the proposed integration of the 10 ASEAN members into the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The AEC, which is expected to launch by the end of 2015, seeks to relax capital flow restrictions and promote the free movement of goods, services and labour within the region. The AEC will create a trading bloc of more than 600 million people with a GDP exceeding $5.6 trillion, making it the seventh-largest economy in the world. Although few foresee this initiative as an immediate game-changer, the AEC is likely to provide lucrative business opportunities, particularly in areas such as financial services, telecoms, real estate, projects and consumer goods.

NORTH ASIA

In China, the economy is slowing, stock prices have plummeted, and questions linger over how the country aims to stimulate growth. However, the M&A market has remained resilient, as many Chinese companies spend their cash stockpiles to fund both domestic and overseas acquisitions. Chinese cross-border M&A activity reached $72.6 billion in the first half of 2015, a 47 percent increase from the $49.5 billion accrued in the same period last year. Outbound investment volume hit $48.2 billion, driven by a number of real estate and industrial sector purchases by Chinese companies in the U.S. and Europe.

Meanwhile, China’s Ministry of Commerce recently published a draft Foreign Investment Law, intended to usher in a new era for foreign investment in the country. A major talking point focuses on the issue of how the law might affect the use of variable interest entities (VIEs), a foreign investment structure used by many international companies in China. If adopted, the new law will change the way multinationals invest and conduct business in the world’s second biggest economy.

Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Weil, Gotshal & Manges retain their Tier 1 status from last year. These firms boast an impressive list of existing and new clients and worked on some of the largest cross-border deals in Greater China. Many of the Tier 1 and Tier 2 domestic and international firms in China have been able to capitalise on the country’s growing M&A market, especially in high-growth areas like technology and e-commerce. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Sullivan & Cromwell, Fangda Partners and King & Wood Mallesons advised on Alibaba Group’s $4.6 billion investment in Chinese electronics retailer Suning Commerce Group, while Skadden, Sullivan & Cromwell, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison acted on JD.com and Tencent Holdings’ $1.55 billion investment in Chinese auto information website operator Bitauto Holdings. Skadden and Simpson Thacher further cemented their top-tier status in China and Hong Kong after acting on the merger between Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, two of China’s leading taxi-hailing apps, which created one of the world’s largest smartphone-based transport services, valued at roughly $6 billion.

Among domestic firms, Fangda Partners, King & Wood Mallesons, Haiwen & Partners, JunHe, Zhong Lun Law Firm, and Han Kun Law Offices solidify their Tier 1 standing after carving out a large share of the big-ticket Chinese M&A work over the past 12 months, including some of the aforementioned deals. Llinks Law Offices propels itself into Tier 2 this year, based on its year-on-year consistent increase in the volume and significance of work done, as well as its fast-growing client base. Meanwhile, Jingtian & Gongcheng’s recently announced formal alliance with Mayer Brown JSM is likely to boost both firms’ cross-border transactional offering between Hong Kong and China. Grandall Law Firm and Dahui Lawyers are growing their reputation as top class firms with experienced M&A outfits. Both firms boast an impressive list of blue-chip Chinese clients, and are expanding their international client portfolios. DaHui in particular is benefitting from its rapid expansion – in just a few years the firm has grown to become a significant market player with more than 60 lawyers. The firm was recently buoyed by the addition of partners Lincoln Zhao and Kenneth Jiang from competitor firms.

The top-tier law firms in Hong Kong display many similarities with the firms in the China International table, as many of them continue to field strong Greater China corporate teams that collaborate on big-ticket cross-border deals in the region. One such deal was Alibaba Group Holding’s $2.5 billion integration of its Tmall online pharmacy operations into Hong Kong-listed affiliate Alibaba Health Information Technology Limited, and involved Tier 1 firms Simpson Thacher and Freshfields. With fellow top-tier firm Linklaters, Freshfields also acted on restructuring the business empire of Li Ka-shing, Asia’s richest man. This reorganisation also featured Woo Kwan Lee & Lo, a new entrant in Tier 3 this year. Li’s Cheung Kong Group spun off its property business as a separately listed company called Cheung Kong Property, while Cheung Kong Holdings purchased the remainder of Hutchison Whampoa’s shares and merged the companies under CK Hutchison Holdings.

Moving up into Tier 1, Kirkland & Ellis has featured on a number of recent notable deals, including Qihoo 360 Technology’s take-private transaction, CSR Corporation’s $26 billion merger with China CNR Corporation, and China Traditional Medicine’s $1.34 billion acquisition of Jiangyin Tianjiang Pharmaceutical. The firm has also grown its practice with the recruitment of partners Gary Li and Amie Tang in Hong Kong.

CHINA DOMESTIC

TIER 1

- Fangda Partners
- Haiwen & Partners
- Han Kun Law Offices
- JunHe
- King & Wood Mallesons
- Zhong Lun Law Firm

TIER 2

- AllBright Law Offices
- Commerce & Finance Law Offices
- Global Law Office
- Grandall Law Firm
- Jingtian & Gongcheng
- Llinks Law Offices
- Tian Yuan Law Firm

TIER 3

- Dacheng Law Offices
- Dahui Lawyers
- Grandway Law Offices
- Guantao Law Firm
- Jincheng Tongda & Neal

FIRMS TO WATCH

- AnJie Law Firm
- Beijing Kang Da Law Firm
- Boss & Young
- Duan & Duan Law Firm
- East & Concord Partners
- Hylands Law Firm
- Liu He Law
- Shimin Law Offices
- Watson & Band Law Offices

CHINA INTERNATIONAL

TIER 1

- Clifford Chance
- Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- Linklaters
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
- Weil, Gotshal & Manges

TIER 2

- Allen & Overy
- Baker & McKenzie
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- Herbert Smith Freehills
- Hogan Lovells
- Kirkland & Ellis
- O’Melveny & Myers
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
- Paul Hastings
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
- Shearman & Sterling
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Slaughter and May
- Sullivan & Cromwell

TIER 3

- Ashurst
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Deacons
- Dentons
- DLA Piper
- Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
- Latham & Watkins
- Mayer Brown JSM
- Morrison & Foerster
- Norton Rose Fulbright
- Reed Smith Richards Butler
- Ropes & Gray
- Sidley Austin
- White & Case

FIRMS TO WATCH

- Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld
- Berwin Leighton Paisner
- Bird & Bird
- CMS, China
- Debevoise & Plimpton
- Eversheds
- K&L Gates
- Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
- Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
- Squire Patton Boggs
- Stephenson Harwood
- Troutman Sanders
- Vinson & Elkins
- Vivien Chan & Co
- Winston & Strawn

HONG KONG

TIER 1

- Clifford Chance
- Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Linklaters
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
- Slaughter and May
- Weil, Gotshal & Manges

TIER 2

- Allen & Overy
- Ashurst
- Baker & McKenzie
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Deacons
- DLA Piper
- Herbert Smith Freehills
- Hogan Lovells
- Latham & Watkins
- Mayer Brown JSM
- Morrison & Foerster
- Norton Rose Fulbright
- Paul Hastings
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
- Shearman & Sterling
- Sullivan & Cromwell

TIER 3

- Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld
- Debevoise & Plimpton
- King & Wood Mallesons
- O’Melveny & Myers
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
- Reed Smith Richards Butler
- Ropes & Gray
- Sidley Austin
- Troutman Sanders
- White & Case
- Woo Kwan Lee & Lo

FIRMS TO WATCH

- Berwin Leighton Paisner
- Bird & Bird
- Eversheds
- Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
- K&L Gates
- Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
- Stephenson Harwood
- Vinson & Elkins
- Vivien Chan & Co
- Winston & Strawn