Clifford Chance and Zaid Ibrahim have helped Japan’s Oji Paper acquire Malaysian paperboard manufacturer, GS Paper & Packaging for an estimated US$200m. The acquisition is intended to boost Oji’s market share in the South-East Asian paper industry.

Six lawyers from the Hong Kong office of Clifford Chance advised the CVC-Asia Pacific-owned fund, Spare Holdings to dispose of its entire stake in GS Paper, which it acquired back in 2007 for US$200m. That transaction – which Paul Hastings and Shearn Delamore & Co closed – was one of the first “true” and complete leveraged buyouts in Malaysia.

This deal is among a number of recent private equity transactions to have closed in Asia, showing signs of growth in the market. According to KPMG research, PE deal volume picked up slightly last year, from 154 deals in 2Q09 to 158 deals in 3Q09.

Andrew Whan, Clifford Chances’ lead partner on the Oji buyout, is confident of the market recovery. “I expect to see more deals of this kind this year, especially within Asia, as regional companies look to make strategic acquisitions and disposals in a more stable economic climate,” he said. “This deal is indicative of the momentum we’re now seeing in private equity transactions, as buyers and sellers return to the market in earnest.”

Zaid’s Singapore-based partner Robert Liew and associate Eve Tsen advised Oji Paper. In other news, the firm has ended its two-year old alliance with Singapore’s Allen & Gledhill.