Asialaw Profiles
The Guide to the legal markets of the Asia-Pacific

O’Melveny & Myers has a strong grounding in US Securities & Exchange Commission regulatory work. This in turn gives the greater China practice a comparative advantage in being able to find solutions to obstacles that its clients may encounter. One client says: “O’Melveny’s team is good in terms of expertise.”

In the last year, O’Melveny advised a number of issuers in the US markets. In one representative transaction, partner David Roberts and his team represented Zhongpin on its US$70.5 million Nasdaq follow-on public offering.

O’Melveny & Myers earned its reputation on China M&As as a result of its potent combination of genuine critical mass of Chinese speaking and Chinese qualified lawyers as well as its deep US law knowledge and expertise. The firm has a strong client list, and enjoys repeated instructions from companies like AMD, Apple, China Development Bank, Deutsche Bank, Escada, General Mills, Goldman Sachs, the Government of Singapore (GIC), Honeywell and Westinghouse.

One client has special praise for the firm’s responsiveness and abilities. “The firm is generally pretty responsive and is basically willing to work to get things done.” The client adds: “It will be available pretty much 24/7.”

In the last year, O’Melveny’s capital markets team represented Nasdaq-listed Solarfun Power on an intricate deal with Hanwha Chemical that was valued at US$370 million. The transaction gave Hanwha Chemical a 49.9% stake in Solarfun, and involved the issuance of approximately US$78 million of shares as well as an exit sale by Solarfun’s two largest shareholders. Partner Doug Freeman and up-and-coming counsel Victor Chen led on the deal.

Partners Howard Chao, Qiang Li and Walker Wallace are all leading lawyers in the practice.

O’Melveny & Myers’ robust China M&A and private equity practices help clients to effectively navigate the tax aspects of their international investments in China. Leading tax lawyer Larry Sussman is known as O’Melveny’s tax expert in China, and he brings 13 years of experience to the firm’s tax advisory offering. He is especially well known for helping foreign companies structure tax issues and navigate sensitive tax related issues on transactions. He is a regular contributor to leading China tax publications and informational services.

O’Melveny’s clients include private equity houses, state and local agencies, financial institutions and international corporations.

The capital markets team at O’Melveny & Myers is known for its ability to advise PRC clients on their US listings. The firm also has a strong regulatory practice that benefits capital markets clients and is headquartered in Washington, DC.

This past year, O’Melveny advised Zhongpin on its US$70.5 million Nasdaq follow-on public offering.

O’Melveny & Myers is often instructed by M&A clients such as AMD, Apple, China Development Bank, Deutsche Bank, Escada, General Mills, Goldman Sachs, Honeywell and Westinghouse. The firm offers capability in both US law and Hong Kong law.

Clients praise O’Melveny’s M&A partners for their innovation and willingness to meet client needs. “They are willing to throw out structures that are new in the market,” says one client.

The M&A group at O’Melveny & Myers had a successful year featuring on some of the largest deals in Japan’s M&A history. The firm is advising Western Digital Corporation on its US$4.3 billion acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. The deal is expected to close at the end of 2011, when it will be the largest ever foreign acquisition in Japan. The respected Dale Araki is the lead partner on the deal and the team also features Mangyo Kinoshita and Scott Sugino, two up-and-coming practitioners within the firm.