Gary has more than 25 years of legal experience and is recognised as one of Singapore’s leading corporate lawyers, particularly in the field of mergers and acquisitions.
His primary area of practice is corporate finance including mergers and acquisitions, securities and stock exchange related work, and general corporate advice. Gary is instructed by financial institutions and local and international corporate clients.
Some of the more significant matters Gary has handled include:
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Acted for Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) in relation to 68 Holdings Pte. Ltd.'s mandatory conditional cash offer for HPL. This deal valued HPL at approximately S$2 billion.
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Acted for the Offeror, a SPV formed by a consortium led by Overseas Union Enterprise Limited (OUE) in relation to its $13.1 billion voluntary conditional cash offer to acquire all of the issued and paid-up ordinary shares in Fraser And Neave, Limited (F&N). The OUE offer was one of two competing offers for F&N, the other being the offer by TCC Assets Limited. This was one of South-East Asia’s largest takeovers. This transaction won the IFLR Asia Awards 2014 M&A Deal of the Year, ALB SE Asia Legal Awards 2014 Southeast Asia Deal of the Year, Southeast Asia M&A Deal of the Year and Singapore M&A Deal of the Year, and was selected as one of the Asian-MENA Counsel Deals of the Year 2013. Drew was also highly recommended in the Corporate & Commercial category for Asia-Pacific headquartered firms in the Financial Times Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers 2014 report for its involvement in the deal.
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Acted as Singapore counsel for Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in the acquisition of some of Royal Bank of Scotland's assets in Singapore and the region for US$550 million. The acquisition included RBS's retail, wealth, and commercial businesses in Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and Hong Kong. It gave ANZ control of RBS's institutional businesses in Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam. This transaction was selected as one of the Asian-Counsel Deals of the Year 2009.
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Advised STATS ChipPac in the US$2.024 billion takeover offer made by Temasek.
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Acted for Safe Label Group Pte Ltd, a vehicle of private equity firm Navis Capital Partners, in its voluntary conditional cash offer for Adampak Limited, a specialized producer of customized labels, which was valued at approximately S$110 million. He also acted in the subsequent delisting of Adampak after the compulsory acquisition of its outstanding shares.
The Asia Pacific Legal 500
Corporate/M&A 2021 - Recommended Lawyer for 4 consecutive years
Corporate/M&A 2017 - Leading individual for 16 consecutive years.
Chambers Asia-Pacific and Chambers Global
Corporate/M&A 2021 - Senior Statespeople for 3 consecutive years
“Gary Pryke is a seasoned practitioner with a long track record in corporate law. He is deeply experienced in advising clients on M&A and securities law, acting for domestic and foreign clients.”
“Gary Pryke is held in high esteem by the market for his acclaimed corporate practice. He has over 25 years of experience advising clients on M&A, corporate finance and securities matters.”
Gary Pryke remains a senior statesperson in the market with close to three decades' experience under his belt. He is described by peers as a "brilliant lawyer" who has "been in the M&A space for a very long time".
“Consultant Gary Pryke is highly reputed by peers and clients alike due to his decades of market experience. Among his recent highlights, he advised the target company C. K. Tang on its SGD81.4 million acquisition by Tang Holdings Private.”
“Gary Pryke is a highly experienced practitioner in this space, with deep knowledge across corporate finance, M&A, securities and financial regulatory work. Garnering widespread market recognition, he is noted for advising Baring Private Equity in respect of its SGD450 million offer to acquire Interplex Holdings shares.”
Sources praise him for "the quality of his work - he's a sublime practitioner."
"A long-established practitioner and a good operator."
"He is a very strong practitioner with a very nuanced appreciation of the regulatory environment."
“[He is] low-key but well respected, and great to have on a deal. He really knows his stuff, and his technical strength is very important.”
“He has a deep understanding of the legislation and how to act inventively within its boundaries.”
“One of the best corporate lawyers in Singapore. The advice he gives is unfailingly spot-on, you can get hold of him any time of the day and he will meet the deadlines you set him however inevitably unrealistic they are."
IFLR1000: The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms
Corporate/M&A 2021 - Highly Regarded for 4 consecutive years; Leading lawyer from 2006 to 2017
"Gary Pryke is respected by peers and clients alike for his experience and meticulous attention to detail: 'He has many years of experience, so he's dealt with different situations, which is very helpful when we encounter new problems or issues,' says a client."
“Gary is one of the firm's best-known personalities and receives widespread praise from peers”.
Who's Who Legal
Mergers & Acquisitions 2017 - Leading Lawyer
Best Lawyers International: Singapore
Corporate Law (2022 edition) – Endorsed individual for 14 consecutive years
Mergers & Acquisitions Law (2022 edition) – Endorsed individual for 14 consecutive years
Asialaw Leading Lawyers
Corporate and M&A 2023/24 – Senior Statesman for 2 consecutive years
Corporate and M&A 2021 – Senior Statesman
Corporate and M&A 2018 - Market Leading Lawyer
Practical Law Company Which Lawyer?
Corporate/M&A 2012 - Endorsed lawyer for 5 consecutive years