Naris Asavathongkul

Naris Asavathongkul

Partner
Baker & McKenzie Limited Attorneys at Law

Biography

Naris is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Bangkok office. He joined Baker McKenzie in 2017 and is active in a number of areas of the corporate and commercial practice, including mergers and acquisition, joint venture, securities and private equity, and Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT). He regularly assists a number of multinational companies with respect to M&A, corporate matters, investments, business integrations, foreign shareholding and distribution models.

Practice Focus

Naris has over a decade of experience in both the Mergers and Acquisitions and Capital Markets practice groups of local and international law firms, and is currently active in the Corporate & Commercial, and Mergers and Acquisitions practice groups at Baker McKenzie. His areas of focus include mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, joint ventures, commercial contracts, foreign investment, as well as corporate structuring/restructuring, technology, consumer goods & retails, media & entertainment, and real estate.

Representative Legal Matters

  • Assisting a listed waste treatment company and a listed alternative energy production company in their joint venture arrangement with Thailand's leading power producer to form two joint venture companies to develop 10 industrial waste-to-energy projects and three solid recovered fuel production facilities, valued at THB 17.6 billion.

  • Representing a listed Thai real estate developer with an impressive portfolio of residential projects in its acquisition of two condominium projects in the midst of construction (through a shares acquisition of the two project companies) from two prominent Thai property developers worth approximately THB 8.6 billion.

  • Represented a Thai-listed entertainment company with one of the pioneering transactions of 2023 in the sale of a 70% stake in its music catalog assets and a joint venture with the world’s leading music group.

  • Assisting a reputable Singaporean investment fund in relation to its joint venture with Thailand's leading real estate developer in order to set up an acquiring vehicle in Thailand for its hospitality portfolio. The initial fund size is around THB 10.8 billion.

  • Represented Southeast Asia's leading ride-hailing mobile platform operator in relation to an investment by a leading Thai retailer for USD 199.3 million in its Thai subsidiaries by forming a joint venture for several business areas, including ride-hailing services, food and grocery-delivery services, logistics, and electronic payments.

  • Assisting a multinational consumer goods company in its disposal of its direct sale business to a Thai-listed entertainment company.

  • Assisted a Thai state-owned SET-listed oil and gas company in relation to its tripartite joint venture with a French company and a Chinese state-owned enterprise. The resulting JV company will be granted the concession to build, operate and transfer (BOT) the Jet Fuel Depot Facility in the new Phnom Penh Airport from the Cambodian government.

  • Assisted a world class automotive parts manufacturer in relation to a joint venture arrangement with an international automotive supplier. The joint venture will be set up to sell exhaust after-treatment systems and related components for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles in Thailand and throughout ASEAN.

  • Assisted the owner of a newly-built hotel in Samui in the sale of shares in the hotel operating company to a Hong Kong investor.

  • Assisted an automotive parts and accessories retailer to acquire a luxury golf course in Pathum Thani, from a leading public golf courses company. The deal was carried out by way of asset and business transfer for a total value of THB 1.4 million.

Admissions

  • Thailand (2013)

Education

  • The London School of Economics and Political Science (LLM, Merit) (2014)
  • Thammasat University (LLB) (2012)

Languages

  • English
  • Thai

Co-author, "Acqui-hire: A hot trend in M&A," Baker McKenzie Client Alert, July 2021

Co-author, "The rise of M&A in the entertainment sector: What you need to know," Baker McKenzie Newsletter, October 2023