Stephen Birkett is a Partner in our Hong Kong office.
Stephen has practiced in Hong Kong for over 25 years and specializes in capital markets advisory and transactional matters, regulatory issues, and mergers and acquisitions transactions. His experience includes advising on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Listing Rules, including numerous IPOs, and the Hong Kong Takeovers Code, as well as corporate and securities law and regulations generally. This includes advising clients on SFC licensing issues for intermediaries, non-contentious employment matters, and general commercial transactions.
Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Stephen served for three years as Senior Director of Corporate Finance with the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong. Before that, he was a partner and Head of Corporate Finance in a leading international firm in Hong Kong. He was a member of the Hong Kong Government Standing Committee on Company Law Reform from 2011 until the end of his six-year tenure.
Stephen is a frequent speaker at conferences on Hong Kong securities legal issues and has authored chapters on the Hong Kong Takeovers Code and Listing Rules in the popular “Practitioner’s Guide” series.
Stephen is fluent in French and Spanish.
Experience
Represented Fosun International in its acquisition of Hani Securities (H.K.) Limited, a securities brokerage licensed by the SFC.
Represented Tencent in multiple debt and equity financings of Futu Holding Limited, a securities fintech business licensed by the SFC and which offers a Chinese language app for trading equities in select international markets.
Represented InvestLab, an on-demand financial technology services company serving the global investment market, in its series A financing round and in applying for a license from the SFC.
Represented BNP Paribas Capital (Asia Pacific) Limited and BOCOM International (Asia) Limited as joint sponsors in the US$195 million initial public offering of Zall Development on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Zall Development is a leading developer and operator of large-scale, consumer product-focused wholesale shopping malls in China. (2011)
Represented BNP Paribas Capital (Asia Pacific) Limited as sole book runner and lead manager in the US$70 million initial public offering of Chaowei Power Holdings Limited on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Chaowei is a leading lead-acid battery manufacturer in China and best known for its products sold under the CHILWEE brand. (2010)
Advised JP Morgan and CCB International as joint bookrunners in the US$470 million initial public offering of China Zhengtong Auto Services Holdings Limited on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. China Zhengtong is the second largest BMW dealer and a major 4S dealership group in China. (2010)
Advised Macquarie Capital Securities Limited as sole lead manager in the US$242 million Hong Kong initial public offering of China-based furniture manufacturer Man Wah Holdings Ltd. (2010)
Represented HSBC and CCB International as joint lead managers in the US$115 million initial public offering of Ruinian International on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Ruinian is the largest manufacturer of amino acid-based nutritional supplements in China. (2010)