Mountain View, CA (April 6, 2015)– Fenwick & West is pleased to announce that deals the firm advised on in 2014 were named Technology Deal of the Year and Asia Pacific Private Equity Deal of the Year at this year’s M&A Atlas Awards for Global Markets.
Fenwick represented WhatsApp in its $19 billion acquisition by Facebook, named Technology Deal of the Year. The acquisition was the largest venture-backed exit of 2014 and the third largest private technology deal ever.
Fenwick was also recognized for its role as U.S. legal counsel to the special committee of the board of directors of Giant Interactive Group Inc. in its going private acquisition, named Asia Pacific Private Equity Deal of the Year. The transaction was the second-largest going private acquisition for a Chinese company, according to The New York Times. Fenwick was also recognized for its work on the Giant acquisition by China Business Law Journal.
Fenwick's team representing WhatsApp was led by partners Sayre Stevick, Andrew Luh and Shawn Lampron. The corporate team included attorneys Derek Huoth, Amna Latif, Vishal Dave, Ryan Slunaker, Jordan Roberts and Adam Derry; executive compensation and employee benefits attorneys Marshall Mort, Kristin O'Hanlon, Grace Chen and Kelli Newman; tax partner Will Skinner; and technology transactions attorneys Stephen Gillespie and Sophia Chen.
The team representing Giant's board of directors included corporate attorneys Gordy Davidson, David Michaels, Eva Wang, Ken Myers, Aaron Hou, Jen Huang and Elena Coleman.
Fenwick is regularly ranked as one of the top law firms for mergers and acquisitions globally and nationally, with specific strength in technology and life sciences transactions. In recent years, the firm has completed more than $400 billion worth of M&A transactions, including significant acquisition programs for leading serial acquirers like Facebook, Cisco Systems and Dropbox.
About Fenwick & West
Fenwick & West provides comprehensive legal services to groundbreaking technology and life sciences companies at every stage of their lifecycle. We craft innovative, cost-effective and practical solutions for established and emerging companies on issues ranging from venture capital, public offerings, joint ventures, M&A and strategic relationships, to intellectual property, litigation and dispute resolution, taxation, antitrust, and employment and labor law. For more than four decades, Fenwick has helped some of the world's most recognized companies become and remain market leaders. For information about a career at Fenwick visit us at fenwick.com/careers.