Brian Schwarzwalder is a partner in the Hong Kong office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. He is a member of the firm’s Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice Groups. Brian has nearly 20 years of experience advising private equity funds and other sophisticated asset managers on cross-border leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions and growth equity investments across Asia-Pacific markets. He has represented both global and Asian investors in some of the largest transactions in the region. In addition to his sponsor-side practice, Brian also represents limited partners who invest as active consortium members and passive equity financing sources. His practice covers a wide range of industries, including life sciences, technology, media, publishing, real estate and manufacturing.
Brian is consistently recognized as a leading lawyer and is highly regarded by various independent legal publications, including Chambers Asia Pacific in which he has been ranked for 9 consecutive years, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and IFLR1000. In the Chambers Asia Pacific guide, a client singled out Brian as “practical, commercial and experienced” and a “great relationship partner,” explaining that “he has a very good grasp of our risk profile.” The Legal 500 Asia Pacific ranks him as a leading lawyer for Private Equity in Hong Kong, with a note that the team “think[s] strategically about deals.”
Some of his recent and most significant experience includes advising:
- Hahn & Co. on the US$1.5 billion sale of leading Korean cement producer and environmental solution provider Ssangyong C&E, the largest single-asset GP-led secondary in Asia to date
- The Special Committee of Chindata on its US$3+ billion going private transaction
- CPPIB on numerous co-investment transactions, including:
- MBK’s US$6 billion acquisition of Homeplus (Korea)
- Bain Capital’s US$7.5 billion acquisition of Hitachi Metals (Japan)
- Bain Capital’s US$480 million investment in IIFL (India)
- KKR on its acquisition of The Executive Centre
Brian has practiced in Hong Kong since 2004. Before moving to Hong Kong, he was the China Program Manager of the Rural Development Institute (now Landesa), a Seattle-based non-profit organization focused on property rights reform in developing and transitional economy countries. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Washington School of Law in 1997, where he served as articles editor for Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal. He also received his Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies) from Williams College in 1992. He is admitted to practice in Hong Kong and the State of Washington and is fluent in written and spoken Mandarin.
Capabilities
- Private Equity
- Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice
- Latin America
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Securities Enforcement
- Securities Litigation
- Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance
- Technology Transactions
Credentials
Education:
- University of Washington - 1997 Juris Doctor
- Williams College - 1992 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- Solicitor of the High Court of Hong Kong
- Washington Bar