M&A and Private Equity Briefings: Focus on Asia

Osama Audi leads Baker McKenzie’s Corporate practice group in the UAE. He focuses on M&A, private equity, venture capital and investment funds matters. Recognized for his commercial-oriented approach to transactions and his work ethic, he represents sovereign wealth funds, private equity and venture capital funds, public and private growth companies, family offices and multinationals. Osama is admitted to the New York Bar and has worked in New York, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Osama is ranked by Chambers Global 2023 as a leading individual for Corporate/M&A: Abu Dhabi based. In their 2018 through 2022 rankings, he was recognized by Legal500 as a "Next Generation" lawyer and is "Highly Regarded" by IFLR for his M&A, venture capital and private equity work. He is also recognized by Legal500 for his work in the oil & gas and real estate sectors and by IFLR for his work in the food & beverage sector. Chambers Global 2023 states that Osama is “incredibly approachable and provides timely, sensible advice" and “very capable”.

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Tracy Wut is the managing partner for Baker McKenzie's China and Hong Kong offices. She is experienced in mergers and acquisitions and foreign direct investments in China. She regularly acts for clients in complex cross-border transactions, in particular in the pharmaceuticals and healthcare sector, and navigates clients through various issues relating to investments in China. She has been recommended as a leading lawyer in Corporate/M&A by Chambers Global, Corporate/M&A and Life Sciences by Chambers Asia and M&A and private equity by IFLR1000. She is the co-head of the Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Industry Group in China and Hong Kong.

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Derek Poon is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Hong Kong office and a member of the Firm's Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions practice groups. He is also the chair of Baker McKenzie's Asia Pacific Private Equity Group and a member of the Global Private Equity Steering Committee. Derek has extensive experience representing private equity firms, investment banks and major corporations on a wide variety of corporate matters, including public and private mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures, real estate private equity and distressed M&A transactions. Earlier in his career, Derek spent time on client secondment with Bain Capital with the Asia Private Equity team.

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Ms. Zhang has abundant experience in corporate affairs, especially in the areas of cross-border M&A (including PE and VC) and joint ventures. She focuses on domestic and overseas cross-border M&A and related legal issues including complicated PE and VC investment and financing, the restructuring involved in dismantling or setting up ‘red-chip’ structures, pre-IPO equity financing and employee incentives for various types of corporations, as well as strategic cooperation and joint venture business. She has accumulated extensive experience and unique insight across a wide range of sectors such as TMT, Fintech, healthcare, real estate, financial institutions, High Tech and high-end manufacturing. Before joining the Firm, Ms. Zhang worked in major Chinese and international lawyer firms. She advised numerous Chinese companies in high-profile overseas M&A, and assisted multiple prominent international PE firms’ significant M&A transactions and equity investments in the Greater China and Asia region. Ms. Zhang is particularly skilful in advising clients on complicated cross-border transactions and providing input of high commercial value. She has also advised large multinational companies on their M&A and restructuring issues in Greater China and Asia, as well as acting as perennial legal counsel for several large Chinese state-owned enterprises (including government control investment companies).

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