By King & Wood Mallesons
On March 20th, 2017, Xu Ping, partner at King & Wood Mallesons (KWM), was named one of the Top 10 M&A Lawyers in China for 2017 by Asian Legal Business (ALB) for her exceptional work in cross-border M&A transactions and the high praise and recognition she received from her clients. The list was compiled on the basis of various factors, including the significance of the M&A deals such candidate has advised on (as lead counsel) in the past 12 months, the representative and influential clients for whom such candidate represented, and the accolades and recognitions such candidate has received from the market, etc.
Xu Ping specializes in cross-border M&A and her work and accomplishments are well regarded in the legal market. With over 20 years of experience, solid legal foundation and extensive cross-border expertise, Xu Ping has advised numerous domestic enterprises on landmark cross-border M&A deals. Acting as lead counsel in those mega transactions, Xu Ping plays a pivotal role in designing deal structure, negotiations and problem solving; she is widely regarded as a dependable cross-border M&A partner with a strategic long-term vision. In 2016 alone, Xu Ping has advised on a number of major M&A transactions which include Apex Technology’s acquisition of Lexmark International, Qingdao Haier’s acquisition of General Electric’s appliances business, a Chinese consortium’s strategic investment in Global Switch (a global leading owner, operator and developer of data centers) and Telstra’s sale of equity stake in Autohome to Ping An Insurance, etc.
In response to her recognition by ALB for this award, Xu Ping said, “It is an honor to receive this award from ALB. My gratitude goes to my clients for their continuous trust and recognition. KWM’s global platform and our legal team with rich international experience are indispensable to our success. The cross-border M&A market remains active in 2016. An increasing number of Chinese enterprises have developed their own global vision and are eager to pursue their international strategies through cross-border M&A transactions. They require guidance from experienced lawyers to navigate them in risk management and deal certainty. As an M&A lawyer, in addition to the requisite legal foundation, will also require to master all aspect of deal making including accounting, finance and management in order to better service the client and have a deeper understanding of the deal. It is also necessary for any M&A lawyer to have exceptional ability in understanding, communication and analytics. These are the essential skills for one to think creatively and act swiftly when different situations arise, and to successfully guide the clients in achieving its commercial and strategic objectives.”