​Brian Schwarzwalder is a partner in the Hong Kong office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and a member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Groups.

Mr. Schwarzwalder has extensive experience in cross-border leveraged buyouts, mergers & acquisitions and growth equity investments, with a particular focus on transactions involving Chinese businesses.  He represents global and Asian private equity funds and other asset managers in some of the largest transactions across Asia and Australia/New Zealand.  He has substantial experience in advising lead sponsors in leveraged buyouts and significant minority investments.  He 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.

Mr. Schwarzwalder has practiced in Hong Kong since 2004.  Before moving to Hong Kong, he was China Program Manager of the Rural Development Institute (now Landesa), a Seattle-based nonprofit organization focused on property rights reform in developing and transitional economy countries.

He has been recognized as a leading lawyer by various independent legal publications, including Chambers Asia Pacific, Legal 500 Asia Pacific and IFLR1000. Most recently, in the 2021 edition of Chambers Asia Pacific, a client was noted saying that Mr. Schwarzwalder is “practical, commercial and experienced” and a “great relationship partner,” explaining that “he has a very good grasp of our risk profile.” Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2021 ranks him as a leading lawyer for Private Equity in Hong Kong, with a note that the team “think[s] strategically about deals.” IFLR1000 2021 recognizes him as highly regarded for his work in Private Equity.

He gained his J.D. 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 B.A. (Asian Studies) from Williams College in 1992.  He is admitted to practice in Hong Kong and the State of Washington.

He is fluent in written and spoken Mandarin Chinese.

Representative Matters

• A Bain Capital led consortium in the US$500 million acquisition of Trans Maldivian Airways, the largest seaplane operator in the Maldives.
• Baring Private Equity Asia in its investment in approximately 35% stake in TELUS International.
• Various global private equity sponsors and investment managers, including CPPIB, AlpInvest, BlackRock and GIC, in their co-investment transactions.
• Bain Capital in its acquisition of Camp Australia, a leading provider of before and after-school care programs in Australia.
• Bain Capital in the Bain consortium’s acquisition of a majority equity stake in Carver Korea Co., Ltd.
• Bain Capital in its purchase in equity interest of a leading Australian-based early education center operator.
• CPPIB in its acquisition of an approximately 20% stake in Homeplus, Tesco’s South Korean business, for US$534 million. The fund was part of a consortium led by MBK Partners and Temasek. The total transaction value is approximately US$6 billion (KRW7.2 trillion) and is the largest Asia-Pacific private equity buyout in Korea to date. Named 2016 “M&A Deal of the Year” by The Asian Lawyer.
• Baring Private Equity Asia in its acquisition of a 40 percent stake in Weetabix Food Company from Bright Food, a China state-owned food manufacturing company. Nominated for “M&A Deal of the Year” for 2016 by Asian Legal Business.
• CPPIB in its co-investment with Anchor Equity Partners and KKR for a 46% stake in Ticket Monster Inc., a leading South Korea e-commerce company, from Groupon Inc. for approximately US$360 million.
• Bain Capital in its acquisition of Australian franchiser Retail Zoo, which operates 294 stores in Australia and another 100 stores worldwide including Boost Juice Bars, Salsa’s Fresh Mex Grill and Cibo Espresso.
• AlpInvest in the proposed US$818 million take private of AsiaInfo-Linkage, a NASDAQ-listed telecommunications company with primary operations in China.
• Australia-based MYOB and its parent company Bain Capital in the buyout of BankLink New Zealand.
• Bain Capital in its US$1.25 billion acquisition of MYOB, Australia’s largest business software developer. This transaction has been the third-largest private equity divestment ever in Australia.
• TPG in its investments in ShangPharma, a Chinese pharmaceutical contract research organization currently listed on the NYSE, NT Pharma, a leading pharmaceutical marketing and distribution services provider, and China Vogue Casualwear, a Chinese manufacturer and distributor of casual sportswear products.
• Bain Capital in connection with the US$489 million sale of Feixiang Chemicals, one of China’s leading makers of amines and surfactants, to Rhodia.
• A global multi-strategy investor in multiple investments in PRC-based media companies.