Allen & Gledhill remains one of the pre-eminent local firms in Singapore. The firm is strong across all practice areas and has been on a strong drive to consolidate it position in the capital markets....
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Allen & Gledhill remains one of the pre-eminent local firms in Singapore. The firm is strong across all practice areas and has been on a strong drive to consolidate it position in the capital markets.
One result of the drive saw Tan Tze Gay, Leonard Ching, Richard Young and Rhys Goh handle Global Logistic Properties' IPO on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading and a simultaneous public offering without listing in Japan, resulting in S$3.9 billion ($3.2 billion) gross proceeds and market capitalisation of S$8.8 billion. This represents the third largest IPO in Singapore's history. The IPO was conducted in conjunction with a massive and complex corporate reorganisation that required cooperation with Cayman Islands, Chinese and Japanese counsels.
On the finance side, partners Kok Chee Wai, Kelvin Wong and Ho Chien Mien are representing the lender, RBS, as Singapore legal counsel regarding the $1.3 billion in limited recourse project financing of a large-scale petrochemical plant for Jurong Aromatics. The firm has worked in tandem with Linklaters to advise on most aspects of the transaction, including procurement of raw materials, supplies and utilities, and consultancy agreements.
The banking team also acted for Wilmar International on the $1.3 billion syndicated facility provided to its subsidiary Wealth Anchor for the acquisition of Sucrogen and Sucrogen on a subsequent A$600 million ($626 million) revolving credit facility from ANZ Bank.
Clients are impressed by the resources available to the project finance team and appreciate the amount of partner time devoted to projects: "Given the very tight timeline due to the transaction being a bid submission, A&G was able to commit a four man team including three very experienced partners," says one client. "We find that the team is very familiar with the Singapore market and its regulatory framework, the type of transaction that we are working on, especially in the industry that the project is in. Their experience is helpful in minimising unnecessary negotiation."
On the M&A side clients have particular praise for Lee Kim Shin: "Very experienced; skilful negotiator; exactly the right balance for a senior M&A partner," says one. Lim Chong Ying also receives praise: "Exceptionally hard working and a very thoughtful and professional individual."
The firm is also acting for CVC Asia Pacific through Asia Link Holdings in its S$349 million ($288 million) investment into PT Link Net, an Indonesian company. It signals increasing business between Singapore and Indonesia and most importantly, illustrates the investors' confidence in the Indonesian economy.
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