STELLAR RESULTS FOR DREW & NAPIER IN LATEST M&A RANKINGS
-  Drew & Napier ranks 2nd Among Singapore Law Firms -

In Asia (ex-Japan) Announced Table,

Drew and Napier is among the top 25 law firms to appear on Thomson Financial’s Asia ex-Japan league table for announced deals.  Ranked on the table with US$7.356 billion worth of announced deals, Drew & Napier is one of only three Singapore firms placed on the table.

In Middle East & North African Announced Table,

The inaugural Middle East & North African league table, the first time that Thomson Financial has released standard league tables for that region, places Drew & Napier firmly within the top 25 of law firms worldwide. Drew & Napier stands out as one of only two Singapore firms appearing on the list of 25, with US$13.56 billion worth of deals. Allen & Gledhill has a total of US$14.196 billion worth of deals. Both firms have 4 announced deals each.

The two firms were helped by their involvement in the US$11.6 billion acquisition of General Electric’s plastics business by Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, as many of the target’s assets were located in Southeast Asia.

“That deal and others pushed us up the league tables, ahead of many US & UK firms who have had offices in the Middle East for a considerable time. Drew expects that it will continue to attract strong mandates from the Middle East in 2008”, said Manoj Sandrasegara, Director and Strategy Head at Drew & Napier.

“Drew has regional clients who have instructed us on overseas acquisitions where there is no Singapore component in the transactions and Singapore law is not the governing law of the transactions. Our role is to lead and manage the entire process including structuring the acquisition with advice from the local counsel we engaged on our clients’ behalf. This is similar to what the major offshore law firms in Singapore have practiced over the years and we are now practicing in that manner”, he said.

In terms of value, one of the biggest deals Drew & Napier advised on in 2007 was the US$11.6 billion worldwide acquisition of General Electric’s (“GE”) plastics business by Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (“SABIC”), one example of the growing trend of outbound M&A deals from the Middle East region. Drew & Napier was the Asia-Pacific Co-ordinating Counsel and Singapore counsel to SABIC. The Firm coordinated and instructed local counsel from a range of jurisdictions such as Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Singapore.

“Drew & Napier’s M&A team has kept very busy over the past year on a number of the biggest and complex transactions in the region and the Middle East. With M&A activity showing no signs of letting up in 2008, we are confident that we will be involved in the larger public and private M&As around the region and beyond”, he also added.

Mergermarket:

In Asia (ex-Japan) Announced Table,

By volume, Drew & Napier is positioned amongst the top 20 firms. Ranked at 18, with sixteen announced deals in 2007, Drew was the third of four Singapore law firms that appeared on the table. In terms of value, Drew accumulated US$7,473 million.

ABOUT DREW & NAPIER LLC
Established in 1889, Drew & Napier LLC is one of Singapore’s leading and largest law firms, with over 220 lawyers and fee-earners. Consistently rated top tier in dispute resolution over the years by international ranking organisations such as Asia Pacific Legal 500, Chambers Global, Practical Law Company and Asia Law Profiles, to name but a few, the firm has five senior counsel, the largest number of any law firm in Singapore. The firm is headed by chief executive officer, Davinder Singh, Senior Counsel. Drew & Napier LLC is also highly rated in Corporate Insolvency & Restructuring, Intellectual Property and Tax, with market leading practices in Banking & Corporate, Competition & Antitrust, Telecommunications, Media & Technology, and Admiralty & Shipping.

For more information please contact:
Verona Huang
Corporate Affairs Manager
Drew & Napier LLC
Tel: +65 6531 2482
Email: verona.huang@drewnapier.com

Lisa Lim
Corporate Affairs Executive
Drew & Napier LLC
Tel: +65 6531 2218
Email: lisa.lim@drewnapier.com