Latham & Watkins is pleased to announce that Frank Sun has joined the firm as a partner in the Corporate Department. His arrival further enhances Latham & Watkins’ Asia and Greater China Practices, which have recently added several prominent transactional partners who advise on private equity and leveraged finance matters. He will be based in the firm’s Hong Kong office.
Sun’s practice involves China-focused transactions spanning private equity investments, private and public M&A, joint ventures and structured corporate financing transactions, and he also has broad experience in multijurisdictional work. He regularly advises clients on private equity investments in China-based targets, Chinese outbound acquisitions, US privatizations, Hong Kong public takeovers, and a broad range of other M&A transactions involving US- or Hong Kong-listed companies. A native Mandarin speaker, Sun is qualified as a New York attorney and a Hong Kong solicitor and is qualified to practice in the People’s Republic of China (non-practicing).
Simon Powell, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in Hong Kong, said: “We are excited to welcome Frank to the firm. He brings sophisticated legal skills and astute commercial instincts to our team, and he offers unique perspectives on both the local and international markets that will be invaluable to our clients.”
Michael Sturrock, Vice Chair of Latham & Watkins’ global Corporate Department, added: “Frank’s arrival marks another important step in the expansion of Latham’s private equity and leveraged finance practices in Asia. We are committed to serving the growing needs of our clients as they navigate an increasingly complex and competitive Asian market. Frank possesses a remarkable depth and breadth of experience that expands our ability to address these challenges head-on, particularly in China.”
“We are delighted that Frank is joining our team. Frank adds another dimension to our private equity practice and further bolsters our China out-bound capabilities. This will enable us to better serve both our Greater China-focused private equity and corporate clients on their in-bound and out-bound deals,” said Simon Cooke, Global Co-Chair of Latham’s Private Equity Practice.
Sun’s arrival follows Simon Cooke, Gary Hamp and Amy Beckingham joining the firm in Hong Kong earlier this year, and London partner James Burnett and Chicago partner Josef Athanas relocating to Hong Kong. Cooke and Beckingham are M&A lawyers, whose practices focus on M&A and corporate finance, specifically on pan-Asian private equity transactions. Hamp is a leveraged finance partner, whose practice focuses on acquisition and leveraged finance, distressed investments, structured secured lending and debt restructurings and workouts. Burnett is a high yield partner, whose practice focuses on representing investment banks, private equity firms and companies in public and private debt and equity offerings, bridge loans, acquisition financing and liability management transactions. Athanas is a restructuring partner, whose practice focuses on focuses on representing debtors, secured creditors, private equity firms and other parties in out-of-court and in-court restructurings, reorganizations, distressed investments and distressed M&A transactions.
Sun said: “I look forward to joining the exceptional corporate practice at Latham & Watkins that is rooted in teamwork and deep market experience. Latham’s market stature and dominance in the world’s major business centers has earned the firm a stand-out reputation in Asia and globally. I am excited to join the team to further strengthen the firm’s role as a leader in complex China and Asia private equity and M&A transactions.”
Sun joins from Kirkland & Ellis. He received his law degrees from Peking University, University College London and Harvard Law School.
Source: www.lw.com
