King & Wood Mallesons has hired capital markets lawyer Hao Zhou as a partner in Hong Kong, and has relocated two lawyers to New York to build on its funds offering in the U.S.
Zhou, who is dual qualified in Hong Kong and the U.S., specialises in cross-border debt and equity capital markets transactions. Before joining KWM, Zhou was a counsel at Linklaters.
“Hao brings a wealth of experience in high-yield and the other China-facing DCM areas. An essential element in our strategy of becoming a top-tier securities practice in the HK market is to acquire U.S. securities law capability, and to use that capability to support our issuer clients across Australia, China and Hong Kong,” said Stuart Fuller, King & Wood Mallesons’ global managing partner, in a statement.
KWM’s Hong Kong securities practice advises on Reg S only and Rule 144A offerings of high-yield bonds, investment-grade bond offerings that involve multiple cross-border credit enhancement structures, content solicitations, tender offers and IPOs on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The firm is also moving Hong Kong-based funds partner George Pinkham and London-based private equity managing associate Parik Dasgupta to New York.
Pinkham advises on creating and structuring international investment funds, and U.S. and European regulations that apply to such funds.
Dasgupta also advises on investment fund structure and formation, and has acted for both U.S. and non-U.S. sponsors of buyout, growth capital, secondary, distressed debt, technology, international private equity, mezzanine, credit opportunities and other global investment funds.
“George and Parik have extensive experience in advising funds on U.S., European, and Asia-based fund structures, and will focus on providing this specialist advice to our existing international clients on their fund-raising initiatives as well as their acquisition projects,” added Fuller in the statement.
