Sharon Lau

Latham & Watkins has advised VinFast Auto Pte. Ltd. (VinFast) on its proposed public listing through a business combination with Black Spade Acquisition Co. (NYSE: BSAQ) (Black Spade). The business combination values VinFast at an enterprise value of approximately US$27 billion and an equity value of US$23 billion, not including Black Spade’s approximately US$169 million of cash in trust (assuming no Black Spade shareholders elect to have their Black Spade shares redeemed for cash as permitted). The Latham team was led by Singapore partners Sharon Lau and Stacey Wong, and Tokyo partner Noah Carr, with associates Elisabeth Ong, Sirada Chayabunjonglerd, Jeffy Katio, and Bijun Huang. Advice on public company matters was provided by Washington, D.C. partner Julia Thompson and associates Michael Foland and Wei Cai; on tax matters by New York partner Jiyeon Lee-Lim and associate Aaron Bernstein; on executive compensation and employee benefits matters by Washington, D.C. partner David Della Rocca and associates Marysia Mullen and Bryce Williamson; on ESG matters by London partner Paul Davies, New York partner Betty Huber, Austin partner Sarah Fortt, and London associate James Bee; and on investment company status matters by Chicago partner Laura Ferrell and associate Daniel Filstrup. VinFast, a member of Vingroup, was founded in 2017 and manufacturers and exports a full portfolio of e-SUVs, e-scooters, and e-buses across Vietnam, North America, and, soon, Europe. The company converted into a fully EV manufacturer in 2022, and has delivered four EV models: VF e34, VF 8, VF 9, and VF 5 to customers in Vietnam to date. VinFast recently crossed an important milestone on the journey to becoming a recognized global EV brand with its first VF 8 EVs exported to North America earlier this year.~~

May 15

1 min

James Grandolfo, partner at Milbank LLP and managing partner of Milbank (Hong Kong) LLP, co-chaired the 9th edition of Practising Law Institute's Annual Institute on Corporate & Securities Law in Asia on September 25-26. Mr. Grandolfo, who has acted as co-chair since the inception of the institute, served alongside co-chairs Sharon Lau of Latham & Watkins and Yvette Rodriguez of Deutsche Bank.~~The two-day event explored key developments shaping Asia's corporate and securities landscape. Topics included M&A market drivers, the growing impact of AI on legal practice, regulatory developments in South and Southeast Asia, and US regulatory activities affecting Asian markets. The program also examined current trends in private credit and direct lending, as well as corporate disputes across Asian jurisdictions.~~Davide Mencacci, head of Milbank's Leveraged Finance practice in Asia, moderated a session titled "Financing Mergers & Acquisitions in Asia." Mr. Mencacci was joined by Sunny Leung, head of the legal team for global lending at Standard Chartered; Pramath Verma, co-head of leveraged finance and private financing at Nomura; and Vikram Lamba, managing director and co-head of Asia Pacific Leveraged Finance and Acquisition Syndicated Finance at HSBC. The panel explored current trends in financing M&A across Asia, covering risk management, transfer restrictions, voting thresholds, security structures, financial covenants and the growing influence of private credit in the region.~~Mr. Grandolfo, in addition to his co-chair duties, moderated a session with former long-time head of the SEC's Division of International Corporate Finance and now Latham & Watkins partner Paul Dudek titled "US Regulatory Developments Impacting Asia." This session covered various regulatory developments from the SEC including proposed changes to the definition of "Foreign Private Issuer," the SEC's new Reg Flex agenda and the SEC's recent comments on China-based companies, among others.~~The two-day event also covered topics such as "Recent Trends in South and Southeast Asia Capital Markets," "M&A Trends in Asia," "Private Credit and Direct Lending in Asia" and "Trends in Disputes Across Asia." The event brought together experts from governments, corporations, banks, academic institutions and private law firms to discuss the latest insights into issues facing corporate and securities law practitioners in Asia with more than 150 people in attendance.~~This program is now available on demand. Click here for more information about PLI.

Sep 30

2 min

Latham & Watkins has advised ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC), a leading data center colocation services provider, on its S$1.75 billion (approximately US$1.3 billion) investment from global investment firm KKR (through its Asia Pacific Infrastructure Investors II Fund), and Singtel, Asia’s leading communications technology group (the consortium). The transaction marks the largest digital infrastructure investment in Southeast Asia to date in 2024. Headquartered in Singapore, STT GDC is one of the world’s fastest-growing data center providers with more than 95 data centers across 11 geographies and points of presence in over 20 major business markets. It provides critical services including high-quality colocation, connectivity, and round-the-clock support services. The transaction comprises an initial S$1.75 billion (approximately US$1.3 billion) investment by the consortium via Redeemable Preference Shares (RPS), with detachable warrants. Upon full exercise of the warrants, the consortium will invest an additional S$1.24 billion (approximately US$0.9 billion). The Latham team was led by Singapore partner Sharon Lau, counsel Michael Rackham, associates Tommy Tan and Cherine Teh, and Hong Kong associate Gladys Ma, with support from Hong Kong partner Derek Chua and associate Christine Lo. Advice was also provided on merger control matters by Brussels partner Luca Crocco, with associate Romain Perrois and on tax matters by New York partner Elena Romanova and London partner Aoife McCabe, with New York associate Sam Yang and London associate Joshua Atkinson.~~

Jun 18

1 min

Latham & Watkins has advised Johor Plantations Group Berhad (JPG) on its RM735 million initial public offering (IPO) on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia. The offering, which consists of a public issue of 464 million new ordinary shares and an offer for sale of 411 million existing shares at an offer price of RM0.84 per share, represents the largest IPO in Malaysia since March 2022. JPG is an upstream oil palm plantation company with plans to expand into the downstream plantation business. The company aspires to lead the charge in RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil production and regenerative agriculture. More than half of the total proceeds from the public issue will be used to construct an integrated sustainable palm oil complex as part of JPG’s strategy to venture into the downstream plantation segment and for strategic replanting activities. The Latham team was led by Singapore partners Sharon Lau and Stacey Wong, with Foreign Legal Consultant Mara Recto. Advice was also provided on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters by London partner Paul Davies and Washington, D.C. partner Sarah Fortt, with London counsel Michael Green and associate James Bee.~~

Jul 10

1 min

Latham & Watkins, Allen & Gledhill, JSA Advocates and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett are among the advisers on KKR and Singapore Telecommunications’ $5.1 billion acquisition of an additional stake in ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC). The transaction has also spawned roles for AZB & Partners, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Latham & Watkins is advising seller ST Telemedia on the sale of its remaining stake in STT GDC to a consortium led by KKR and Singtel. The transaction implies an enterprise value of approximately $10.9 billion for the Singapore-based data centre platform. The Latham team is led by Singapore corporate partners Sharon Lau and Michael Rackham. Latham also advised ST Telemedia on receiving the consortium’s earlier $1.3 billion investment in STT GDC in 2024. Allen & Gledhill and JSA Advocates are advising Singtel, according to people with knowledge of the matter. JSA’s team is being led by partners Vikram Raghani and Nisha Kaur Uberoi. Simpson Thacher, retaining its role representing long-time client KKR, is acting as counsel to both KKR and Singtel, with Hong Kong partner Erik Wang once again leading the firm’s team on the transaction. Gibson Dunn is also acting for KKR on the deal. Gibson Dunn’s team is being co-led by Hong Kong partner Tyler Cohen and London partner Till Lefranc. In the initial $1.3 billion stake acquisition in STT GDC in 2024, it was Freshfields that advised the KKR-led consortium. The Freshfields team was then led by former partner Nigel Gleeson and associate Alice Boughton, both of whom have since moved to Gibson Dunn Singapore as partners. According to sources working on the deal, Indian firms AZB & Partners and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas are advising KKR and ST Telemedia on merger control aspects of the deal. In 2024, AZB acted as sole Indian counsel for the consortium leaders in securing a Competition Commission of India approval for their investment in STT GDC. Milbank also had a role in the deal, the firm advised a large group of lenders made up of global and regional banks on the financing for the acquisition. Its team, sources said, was led by partner Davide Mencacci and special counsel Daniele Sutto. Under the latest agreements, funds managed by KKR and Singtel will acquire the remaining 82% stake in STT GDC from founding shareholder ST Telemedia. Upon completion, KKR will hold a 75% interest in the company, with Singtel owning the remaining 25%, taking into account the conversion of existing redeemable preference shares held by both investors. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Founded in 2014, STT GDC is one of the world’s fastest-growing and most diversified data centre platforms, with 2.3 gigawatts of design capacity across12 markets in Asia Pacific and Europe.

Feb 5

2 min