The WSJ Blog reported yesterday that ….
“Singapore based law firm WongPartnership LLP said Thursday it has formed an alliance with Indonesian counterpart Makes & Partners as both firms seek to expand their presence in Southeast Asia’s deal market.”
Here is the story and link
Deal activity in Southeast Asia has slowed this year, but that hasn’t stopped deal-makers from teaming up.
The alliance, which has been in the works for more than a year, was announced Thursday and comes as investors bank on a revival in deal activity in Indonesia following last month’s presidential elections.
Getting an Indonesian partner will give WongPartnership access to that market. WongPartnership specializes in complex merges and advised Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi on his $11 billion purchase of Singapore property & consumer firm Fraser & Neave Ltd.F99.SG -0.34% as well as DBS Group on its ultimately aborted bid for Indonesia’s Bank Danamon, both in 2013. Makes & Partners has been prolific in many big Indonesian transactions, both on the M&A and share sale side. It advised private equity firm CVC Capital Partners on its $1.3 billion sale of its stake in PT Matahari Department Store LPPF.JK +1.72% last year, as well as on the $337 million deal in which Japan’s Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co.8750.TO -0.07% Ltd. bought a 40% stake in Indonesia’s PT Panin Life.
“Many investors are interested in Indonesia and likewise, many Indonesian corporates are also interested in expanding into the region,” Yozua Makes, managing partner at the Indonesian law firm said in a statement. Senior counsel at WongPartnership Alvin Yeo said that that his firm has been acting in an increasing number of cross-border deals and that a partnership will help the Singapore firm to leverage on Makes & Partnership’s expertise in Indonesia.
M&A activity in Southeast Asia has slowed this year, partly because of the lack of deals in Indonesia ahead of the elections. So far this year, there has been US$42.4 billion in M&A transactions involving a Southeast Asian company; last year in the same period, the region was home to US$55.34 billion of transactions. Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd’s US$5.7 billion purchase of 25 % stake in Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s retail arm, drug and cosmetic firm A.S. Watson Co., is the biggest deal.
