Baker McKenzie has been named "Law Firm of the Year (Fund Formation): APAC" at the 2024 Private Equity Real Estate (PERE) Global Awards.
This highly prestigious award is a testament to Baker McKenzie's established reputation, track record and strong client relationships in the region. Chambers & Partners has consistently ranked the Firm as a Band 1 firm for its work in Funds in the Asia Pacific region – Band 1 in Investment Funds: Private Equity, Asia Pacific (2021-2025) and Band 1 in Investment Funds: Registered Funds, Asia Pacific (2023-2025).
"We are incredibly proud to be recognized once again at the Private Equity Real Estate Global Awards," said Partner Jason Ng, who co-leads the Firm's Asia Pacific Private Equity Practice. "We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our clients, and to PERE for this recognition."
Baker McKenzie's Funds practice provides comprehensive solutions across all aspects of private funds work, including fund formation, fund investments, secondaries, structured hybrid funds, GP-led liquidity solutions, separate accounts, and more. The team also regularly advises clients on complex club funds and strategic joint ventures, providing a unique blend of Funds expertise and M&A principles from within one team. Principal Derek Kwan reflects: "We provide an end-to-end service throughout a fund's life cycle. By leveraging our global network of offices, we deliver seamless and comprehensive advice on transactional, regulatory and tax issues – providing a real "one-stop" service for our clients, removing the need to engage multiple law firms or coordinate with different teams."
While the team regularly advises on pure private equity, credit and infrastructure funds, the PERE award recognises the team's expertise in private equity real estate, reflecting credentials such as advising long-standing client Gaw Capital Partners on its real estate focused funds, separate accounts and co-investment platforms, including Gateway Real Estate Fund VII, which raised USD 3 billion in total equity.
The PERE award is judged based on submissions by law firms of the work they have acted on over the prior year. For Baker McKenzie, this includes numerous matters for clients that are confidential and cannot be disclosed, but sharable highlights include advising Sime Darby Property on its industrial development fund, and acting for Vita Partners (a market-leading Asia Pacific integrated Life Sciences and R&D Real Assets Platform) on the establishment of a consortium to acquire a SGD 1.6 billion portfolio of assets from the Soilbuild Business Space REIT. The team also advised Gaw Capital on its partnership with BW ESS to launch an investment platform for battery projects, and represented Weave Living on various matters, including its joint venture with BlackRock to acquire, operate and develop a flagship asset in Singapore.
The team is active across all sectors of private equity real estate, showcasing strong credentials in "New Economy" asset classes like data centers, which include advising ESR on its first data center fund, acting on the AirTrunk USD 16 billion sale to Blackstone, advising a consortium of investors on their USD 672 million investment into the international data center platform of GDS, as well as supporting Gaw Capital on its partnership with GDS to build a 40-megawatt data center campus in Japan. Funds Partner Edwin Wong, who also co-leads Baker McKenzie's APAC Data Centre Taskforce, commented, "Sectors like logistics, data centers and energy transition remain extremely active in the market. These capital structures require lawyers that understand the complexities that come with the underlying assets, and we work with our clients to anticipate and solve for those complexities, from development to disposal."
As well as a varied spread of work, the team also advises a wide range of clients, acting for both sponsors and investors. "It's something we know adds real value to our service, because we deeply understand both sides of the table," notes Special Counsel Hayley Irons*. "It helps us to find practical solutions that better suit everyone involved."
That includes acting for notable pensions and sovereign wealth funds on their new and secondary investments. In Hong Kong alone, the team has advised on new blind-pool LP investments and co-investments representing billions of investment over the past year, along with headline transactions like advising APG on its investment into ESR's first perpetual South Korea logistics core fund.
Singapore is just as strong, and Local Principal Jens Carle recognises the opportunities in the region: "Singapore remains a pivotal hub in the private funds market, serving as a gateway to Southeast Asia's dynamic economies and attracting significant private capital. We have built a trusted reputation over many years, working with long-established local players, and with the many clients who are beginning or building their presence in Singapore and Southeast Asia."
About the APAC Funds team:
Baker McKenzie's Funds practice is anchored by sizeable Funds teams in Singapore, Hong Kong SAR and Australia, and supported by experienced lawyers in Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, PRC, Vietnam and Korea, providing total transaction support in the region.
The APAC team works closely with tax and regulatory teams in the U.S. and Europe, delivering advice to clients from around the world, in respect of multi-jurisdictional investments and fund structures. The key APAC Funds contacts are Jason Ng, Edwin Wong and Hayley Irons in Hong Kong, with Kelvin Poa, Derek Kwan and Jens Carle in Singapore, and Lewis Apostolou, Leo Vellis and Trudi Proctor in Australia. Tax Partners Lane Morgan and David Gong regularly work with the APAC Funds team to deliver US tax advice.
* Registered Foreign Lawyer
This highly prestigious award is a testament to Baker McKenzie's established reputation, track record and strong client relationships in the region. Chambers & Partners has consistently ranked the Firm as a Band 1 firm for its work in Funds in the Asia Pacific region – Band 1 in Investment Funds: Private Equity, Asia Pacific (2021-2025) and Band 1 in Investment Funds: Registered Funds, Asia Pacific (2023-2025).
"We are incredibly proud to be recognized once again at the Private Equity Real Estate Global Awards," said Partner Jason Ng, who co-leads the Firm's Asia Pacific Private Equity Practice. "We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our clients, and to PERE for this recognition."
Baker McKenzie's Funds practice provides comprehensive solutions across all aspects of private funds work, including fund formation, fund investments, secondaries, structured hybrid funds, GP-led liquidity solutions, separate accounts, and more. The team also regularly advises clients on complex club funds and strategic joint ventures, providing a unique blend of Funds expertise and M&A principles from within one team. Principal Derek Kwan reflects: "We provide an end-to-end service throughout a fund's life cycle. By leveraging our global network of offices, we deliver seamless and comprehensive advice on transactional, regulatory and tax issues – providing a real "one-stop" service for our clients, removing the need to engage multiple law firms or coordinate with different teams."
While the team regularly advises on pure private equity, credit and infrastructure funds, the PERE award recognises the team's expertise in private equity real estate, reflecting credentials such as advising long-standing client Gaw Capital Partners on its real estate focused funds, separate accounts and co-investment platforms, including Gateway Real Estate Fund VII, which raised USD 3 billion in total equity.
The PERE award is judged based on submissions by law firms of the work they have acted on over the prior year. For Baker McKenzie, this includes numerous matters for clients that are confidential and cannot be disclosed, but sharable highlights include advising Sime Darby Property on its industrial development fund, and acting for Vita Partners (a market-leading Asia Pacific integrated Life Sciences and R&D Real Assets Platform) on the establishment of a consortium to acquire a SGD 1.6 billion portfolio of assets from the Soilbuild Business Space REIT. The team also advised Gaw Capital on its partnership with BW ESS to launch an investment platform for battery projects, and represented Weave Living on various matters, including its joint venture with BlackRock to acquire, operate and develop a flagship asset in Singapore.
The team is active across all sectors of private equity real estate, showcasing strong credentials in "New Economy" asset classes like data centers, which include advising ESR on its first data center fund, acting on the AirTrunk USD 16 billion sale to Blackstone, advising a consortium of investors on their USD 672 million investment into the international data center platform of GDS, as well as supporting Gaw Capital on its partnership with GDS to build a 40-megawatt data center campus in Japan. Funds Partner Edwin Wong, who also co-leads Baker McKenzie's APAC Data Centre Taskforce, commented, "Sectors like logistics, data centers and energy transition remain extremely active in the market. These capital structures require lawyers that understand the complexities that come with the underlying assets, and we work with our clients to anticipate and solve for those complexities, from development to disposal."
As well as a varied spread of work, the team also advises a wide range of clients, acting for both sponsors and investors. "It's something we know adds real value to our service, because we deeply understand both sides of the table," notes Special Counsel Hayley Irons*. "It helps us to find practical solutions that better suit everyone involved."
That includes acting for notable pensions and sovereign wealth funds on their new and secondary investments. In Hong Kong alone, the team has advised on new blind-pool LP investments and co-investments representing billions of investment over the past year, along with headline transactions like advising APG on its investment into ESR's first perpetual South Korea logistics core fund.
Singapore is just as strong, and Local Principal Jens Carle recognises the opportunities in the region: "Singapore remains a pivotal hub in the private funds market, serving as a gateway to Southeast Asia's dynamic economies and attracting significant private capital. We have built a trusted reputation over many years, working with long-established local players, and with the many clients who are beginning or building their presence in Singapore and Southeast Asia."
About the APAC Funds team:
Baker McKenzie's Funds practice is anchored by sizeable Funds teams in Singapore, Hong Kong SAR and Australia, and supported by experienced lawyers in Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, PRC, Vietnam and Korea, providing total transaction support in the region.
The APAC team works closely with tax and regulatory teams in the U.S. and Europe, delivering advice to clients from around the world, in respect of multi-jurisdictional investments and fund structures. The key APAC Funds contacts are Jason Ng, Edwin Wong and Hayley Irons in Hong Kong, with Kelvin Poa, Derek Kwan and Jens Carle in Singapore, and Lewis Apostolou, Leo Vellis and Trudi Proctor in Australia. Tax Partners Lane Morgan and David Gong regularly work with the APAC Funds team to deliver US tax advice.
* Registered Foreign Lawyer
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