Lao, Joanne K. Y.

Joanne K. Y. Lao

Associate

joanne.lao@lw.com
    Lao, Joanne K. Y.

    Joanne K. Y. Lao

    Associate

    joanne.lao@lw.com

    Profile

    Joanne Lao is an associate in the Hong Kong office of Latham & Watkins and a member of the Corporate Department.

    She primarily advises on cross-border M&A, capital market transactions, and compliance with Hong Kong’s Listing Rules.

    Experience

    Joanne ’s experience includes advising:
    • A consortium led by Starwood Capital Group, Sixth Street, and SSW Partners on the proposed US$7.1 billion take-private of ESR Group Limited by way of a scheme of arrangement from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This deal represents the largest privatization from the HKEX since 2021
    • Evolution Data Centres on its:
      • Joint venture agreement with Central Pattana PCL, one of the largest property developers in Thailand, to design, build, and operate a state-of-the-art carrier-neutral data centre in central Bangkok
      • Joint venture with Megawide to build, operate, and develop data centers in the Philippines
    • Warburg Pincus on its establishment of Oona Insurance (Oona), a digital general insurance platform in Southeast Asia, and on Oona’s initial acquisitions of two general insurance assets in the region
    • ARA Asset Management, the largest independent and pure play real assets manager in Asia Pacific, on:
      • A US$5.2 billion business combination of the ARA Group with ESR Cayman Limited to become APAC’s leading real asset manager and the third largest listed real estate investment manager globally
      • Its US$500 million equity round of financing, in which Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation was the lead investor
      • Its US$1.3 billion joint buyout, together with Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing, of Kenedix, Inc., one of Japan’s leading real estate fund managers
      • A strategic acquisition of a majority stake in LOGOS Property Group, a logistics real estate development platform
      • A proportional offer for 29% of all securities in the ASX-listed Cromwell Property Group, a real estate investor and manager
    • Partners Group, a leading global private markets firm, and its management shareholders on the US$988 million disposal of its portfolio company Straive (formerly known as SPi Global), a leading global provider of technology-driven content and data solutions, to Baring Private Equity Asia
    • Warburg Pincus-backed Vincom Retail’s US$740 million initial equity offering on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) — awarded Best Private Equity Deal at the FinanceAsia Achievement Awards 2017
    • Warburg Pincus on the US$214 million joint venture between affiliates of Warburg Pincus and Becamex IDC to form BW Industrial Development Joint Stock, a Vietnam-based developer of institutional-grade industrial and logistics properties 
       

    Qualifications

    Bar Qualification

    • Hong Kong (Solicitor)

    Education

    • Postgraduate Certificate in Laws, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2017
    • Bachelor of Arts in Law, Downing College, Cambridge University, 2016

    Practices

    News & Insights

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