International law firm Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Anthony (Tony) Jacobsen has joined its Shanghai office as a partner, effective November 1, 2011.
Mr. Jacobsen has a broad capital markets and general corporate practice with a focus on advising issuers and sponsors for initial public offerings on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Several transactions on which Mr. Jacobsen was lead partner are award-winning deals, recognized by FinanceAsia, IFR Asia, Asiamoney and Asian-MENA Counsel. Mr. Jacobsen speaks fluent Mandarin, Cantonese and English.
“I am delighted to join the Sidley team and hope to enhance even further its top tier reputation in capital markets and its enviable track record in Hong Kong IPOs,” said Mr. Jacobsen. “As the regional capital markets continue to grow in size and complexity, international firms must position themselves to address the changing needs of clients and Sidley has clearly demonstrated its commitment to be a market leader throughout the region.”
Thomas Albrecht, Sidley’s Managing Partner for Asia Pacific said, “We have been advising clients on Hong Kong IPOs for more than a decade and have also developed one of the largest and most active corporate finance practices in the region. The addition of Tony to our Shanghai office reflects our view that Hong Kong and Shanghai will continue to grow as global financial centers. Tony will work closely with our colleagues in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai to provide advice to China-based companies eager to tap the equity and debt markets in Hong Kong, the U.S. and Europe.”
Constance Choy, partner and head of Sidley’s Hong Kong Corporate Finance Practice, added, “We anticipate that China-based clients will greatly benefit from our on-the-ground capital markets presence. We are very pleased to have such an experienced and prominent partner join us in Shanghai to help us meet the needs of our clients.”
Sidley has been present in Asia Pacific for nearly 30 years, having opened its first office in Singapore in 1982. The regional team has been awarded numerous honors, including as the “Most Innovative U.S. Law Firm 2010” by IFLR Asia, and is recognized as having one of the top capital markets practices in the region by Chambers and Asia Pacific Legal 500.
Sidley’s corporate finance team is comprised of lawyers with multi-jurisdictional law capabilities, advising clients on a wide range of matters governed under Hong Kong, U.S. and English law. The team is therefore able to advise on dual-listings and international offerings. Since 2010, Sidley lawyers have acted on 24 IPOs on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq and, working with local advisers, the Indonesia Stock Exchange in addition to 24 high-yield debt offerings. In Shanghai, the firm has a leading M&A / FDI practice as well as being part of Sidley’s award-winning Asia investment funds practice.
Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world’s premier full-service law firms, with approximately 1700 lawyers practicing in 17 U.S. and international cities, including Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Sidley is recognized for service and responsiveness. Sidley received the most first-tier national rankings of any U.S. law firm in the inaugural U.S.News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” rankings for 2010. BTI, a Boston-based research and consulting firm, has named Sidley as one of only two firms to have been in the top ten of the BTI Client Service rankings every year since the inception of those rankings in 2001, and as number one in three of those years.
