MoFo and Sidley add to Chinese capital markets partnerships
US firms Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) and Sidley Austin have bulked up their Chinese capital markets teams with the addition of a partner apiece.
Sidley has added Anthony Jacobsen to its Shanghai team. He joins from Baker & McKenzie, where he was a partner in the firm’s commercial and securities group.
Jacobsen has a broad capital markets and general corporate practice with a focus on advising issuers and sponsors for IPOs in Hong Kong.
Shunfeng Photovoltaic International, Sinopharm Group, Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels, and China Shipping Container Lines are among the Chinese companies he has advised for their Hong Kong IPOs.
At MoFo, Melody Chen has joined the firm’s Hong Kong office from Herbert Smith, where she was promoted to partner in May 2011. Chen has worked on a broad range of corporate transactions involving securities offerings, debt offerings, private equity investments, M&A and financing.
One of the most recent IPOs she was involved in was the $148m listing of Chinese women’s footwear retailer Hongguo International on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. She advised the underwriters together with Herbert Smith Hong Kong partner Gary Lock.
She follows in the footsteps of Herbert Smith Asian US capital markets head John Moore, who jumped ship to MoFo in July.
