Dechert Wins M&A Deal of the Year in Southeast Asia at The Asia Legal Awards

A deal on which Dechert LLP advised has been named the “M&A Deal of the Year: Southeast Asia” at The Asia Legal Awards 2017. The awards, conducted by The American Lawyer in association with The Asian Lawyer, China Law & Practice and Legal Week, celebrate achievement, excellence and innovation in the legal profession in the Asia-Pacific region.

Dechert acted as lead counsel to the Lazada Group, a Singapore-headquartered internet retailer, in the sale of a controlling stake in the company to China’s Alibaba. The deal, Alibaba’s largest investment outside China to date, placed Lazada’s post-transaction valuation at more than US$2 billion.

The Dechert team was led by Munich corporate partner Federico G. Pappalardo, who along with New York corporate partner Kristopher D. Brown accepted the award at a ceremony held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong. They were accompanied by Gladys Chun, General Counsel for the Lazada Group, and by Jinesh Lalwani, its Senior Legal Counsel.

Chun was herself named “In-house Counsel of Distinction” and her legal team honored as “In-house Legal Department of the Year” for their outstanding performance throughout the Alibaba acquisition.

Separately, the Lazada/Alibaba transaction is currently shortlisted for “M&A Deal of the Year” by the International Financial Law Review in the IFLR Asia Awards 2017, which will be presented on March 2 at the Island Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong. It is also a finalist for “European corporate deal of the year” in The Lawyer European Awards 2017, which will be presented at London’s Grange St. Paul’s Hotel on March 16.

About Dechert

Dechert is a global specialist law firm with a deep bench of experts focused on sectors with the greatest complexities and highest regulatory demands. We deliver practical commercial insight and judgment to our clients’ most important matters. Nothing stands in the way of giving clients the best of the firm’s entrepreneurial energy and seamless collaboration in a way that is distinctively Dechert.