Firm Advises on Three “Deals of the Year” in Asia

Latham & Watkins’ corporate practice earned recognition for advising on three groundbreaking “Deals of the Year” in FinanceAsia’s 2017 Achievement Awards. The awards highlight innovative transactions in the region and aim to recognize “excellence in bringing corporates and investors together and in developing Asia’s capital markets.” The three landmark transactions include: 

• “Best Private Equity Deal” – Latham & Watkins represented Vincom Retail (“VCR”), Vietnam’s largest retail property developer, owner and operator, and its shareholder Warburg Pincus, in connection with VCR’s debut international offering and listing of shares on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange. VCR is the first Vietnamese shopping mall developer and operator to list its stock. The deal represented the largest ever international offering of shares in a Vietnamese company. The innovative deal structure addressed various legal and regulatory issues that had previously discouraged foreign investor participation in Vietnam and, accordingly, is likely to open up new investment opportunities for a wider pool of domestic and international investors to mobilize capital into Vietnam. The Latham & Watkins team was led by Hong Kong partner Amy Beckingham and Singapore partner Sharon Lau. 
• “Best High-Yield Bond” – Latham & Watkins represented Vedanta Resources, a global diversified metals and mining company, on its issue of US$1bn high yield bonds due 2022. This was the largest single tranche G3 high yield bond issuance in Asia (ex-Japan) since 2015. The Latham & Watkins team was led by Singapore partner Rajiv Gupta with Hong Kong counsel Lou Rabinowitz and Hong Kong partner James Burnett.
• "Best Myanmar Deal” – Latham & Watkins represented TPG on its sale of a 50% interest in Myanmar Distillery Company to Thai Beverage Public Company Limited, a leading spirits group in Asia. Myanmar Distillery Company is the largest spirits company in Myanmar and produces Grand Royal, the nation’s leading whisky brand. This was a highly publicized, cross-border transaction led by Singapore partner Sharon Lau and senior associate Marcus Lee.