Teng Sen’s areas of practice encompass mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures, corporate governance, general corporate, crisis management and securities related matters. Teng Sen also regularly advises clients on Singapore stock exchange listing rules.
He has advised companies, board of directors, financial institutions, private equities, venture funds as well as family offices.
As part of his practice, Teng Sen has advised mergers and acquisitions spanning various industries including, consumer markets, health care, real estate, logistics, transport, cybersecurity and technology.
Prior to joining Drew & Napier, Teng Sen started his career with the Corporate M&A department in one of the largest Singapore law firms. Teng Sen had also spent a stint with a large Japanese law firm in Tokyo, and have experience as an in-house counsel in an international bank.
Teng Sen has facilitated the Advanced Corporate Practice for the Preparatory Course leading to Part B of the Singapore Bar Examinations since 2018.
Teng Sen has been recognised as a Leading Individual under the Corporate/M&A category for two consecutive years by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific since 2021. He has also been rated as highly regarded by IFLR1000. Teng Sen was named as one of Singapore’s 20 most influential lawyers aged 40 and under in 2019 by the Singapore Business Review.
Chambers Asia Pacific and Global
Corporate/M&A 2024 – Band 5
Corporate/M&A 2023 – Up and Coming lawyer for 2 consecutive years
"Teng Sen is very sharp. He truly understands the balance between commercial viability and legal risk and can advise accordingly, in a manner that makes you feel that you are in safe hands."
"Teng Sen is a consummate legal practitioner who possesses intellect and wisdom, and who excels at understanding the various stakeholders in any given situation, allowing us to formulate strategy and tactics with great effectiveness. He is my go-to lawyer on all corporate M&A matters."
"Teng Sen is able to give sound advice."
The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
Corporate/M&A 2024 – Leading Individual for 3 consecutive years
“Steven Lo and Tan Teng Sen are experienced in what they do and are able to distill and communicate the issues effectively.”
"We worked with Teng Sen Tan who delivered well despite the tight timeline and at a reasonable price. We had previously approached other firms on this same piece of work but they felt the timeline was too tight or quoted very high fees for the urgent work.”
“Partners Mr Steven Lo and Mr Tan Teng Sen. Both of them are attentive and have the ability to understand client concerns. They are also able to clearly articulate legal issues and suggest workable solutions.”
“Tan Teng Sen is a brilliant legal practitioner who cares deeply for his clients, exhibits the highest level of ethics and never fails to go the extra mile in advancement of client’s interests.”
“Singled out by clients as ‘superb legal practitioners’”
“Tan Teng Sen is very on the ball and provides sound advice with an eye on commercial issues.”
“Tan Teng Sen is very knowledgeable and is able to offer sound and practical advice.”
"Tan Teng Sen is 'an-up-and-coming partner' who provides 'amazing response times, a meticulous approach and an ability to work well under pressure'; he is recommended as 'a counsel of choice to investment banks and financial advisers'."
IFLR1000
Mergers & Acquisitions 2023 – Highly Regarded lawyer
"Mr. Tan leads the team well and allocates the resources to meet our business needs. Meanwhile, he contributed to our communication to SGX on the compliance issues, especially during the transition period as the company is restructuring and venturing into new business in different jurisdictions."
"A very responsible lawyer who was able to understand our objectives and identify key areas of the agreement that could have worked against us. Very responsive and will always make time to discuss any concerns we may have."
"Commercially minded. Able to find compromises when negotiating. Able to implement feedback well."
“Professional, experienced and importantly very helpful. Goes the extra mile to put the client in a better position."
"Teng Sen's user-friendliness to in-house counsels and investment bankers alike stems from his innate pragmatism, communicativeness, solid instincts and robust views. He confronts complex and time-critical exigencies with an ease born from years of experience applying the listing rules and the Takeover Code in unprecedented situations."
"He is very empathetic and helpful. Very experienced."
"Teng Sen is able to spot wider issues to a problem and not just deal with the question that is being asked. He then proposes holistic solutions in a manner that is well broken down, clear and concise. He is enthusiastic and it is very clear that he is driven by the desire to be a trusted legal adviser that his clients can rely on. He and his team's responses are extremely prompt."
"Very personable, excellent at communicating and always available/responsive."
"1. Leadership - led the deal when necessary but also allowed his junior partners and associates leeway to carry the deal. I think this resulted in a very cohesive and tight support from the D&N team for our deal. 2. Problem solver - found solutions and was extremely resourceful to tackle the issues on the deal."
"Commercially-minded, responsive and seeks to achieve a win-win outcome in negotiations."
"1. Intensity and responsiveness - always being available to assist with questions and clarifications on legal issues. 2. Deep understanding of the regulatory framework across the Singapore Code of Takeovers and Mergers and the Singapore Exchange Listing Rules. 3. Creativity - in developing solutions that would be acceptable to all stakeholders in a transaction (i.e. the company, the independent financial adviser and the regulators). 4. Knowledge of precedents/superior research - which enabled us to examine less known precedents and leverage the approaches taken in those situations to be applied to our particular circumstances."
"Very attentive, fast respond to queries and gave solid alternatives."
Asialaw Leading Lawyers
Corporate and M&A 2023/24 - Notable Practitioner for 3 consecutive years
“Teng Sen is a seasoned corporate lawyer and provides value-added services to the business owner. He's adept at corporate financing works and compliance matters and is a great partner for us.”
“Very experienced corporate partner who is commercially minded. He gives practical advice.”
“Excellent legal knowledge and communications.”
“Teng Sen is a consummate lawyer who combines intellect, wisdom and insights, and who is able to understand various stakeholders, enabling clients to formulate strategy and tactics with great effectiveness.”
“Teng Sen followed through the M&A process diligently with excellent support from his team. He had a good grasp of our needs and was able to develop a coherent strategy.”
“Impeccable deal leadership. Covers the strategic issues and knows the details. Able to rope in appropriate resources and expertise from rest of his firm to support.”
“He is a strong negotiator, commercially minded and has a good base of legal knowledge. He is able to understand client positions and concerns and advise on negotiating positions.”
“Able to understand our objectives and distil key legal issues for us to understand easily.”
“His response time is very good and he always meets deadlines. His advice is practical.”
“Responsive, efficient and provides precise advice.”
"Soft-spoken excellent black letter lawyer who is very good at finding solutions in a complex regulatory environment. His experience would be invaluable to any client. I note that the deal closed during the movement control order in Malaysia (when we were all working from home) when many deals stalled or were aborted.”
“Quick turnaround time, partner-level input and practical advice with an eye on the relative bargaining positions of the parties.”
“Teng Sen is a professional and dependable legal advisor on our transactions. He consistently meets timelines and delivers sound quality advice with a strong commercial sense.”
A client commended Teng Sen as “Very competent and sound technically; able to come up with practical solutions; listens and reads the situation well and resourceful - knows where to go looking for answers beyond the usual port of calls.”
Singapore Business Review
Singapore’s 20 most influential lawyers aged 40 and under in 2019 – Listed lawyer