Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Maples and Calder have advised special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Aquila Acquisition Corporation on its HK$10 billion ($ 1.27 billion) de-SPAC merger with ZG Group, marking Hong Kong’s first-ever de-SPAC transaction. Kirkland & Ellis, Shihui Partners and Maples and Calder have acted for ZG Group.

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has added a capital markets partner in Hong Kong as global IPO markets look to finish 2023 strong after a slump in the first half of the year.

Shearman & Sterling has advised Abu Dhabi's sovereign weal fund Mubadala Investment on its acquisition of a majority stake in U.S. asset manager Fortress Investment Group from Japan's SoftBank Group, which turned to Morrison Foerster for counsel. Kirkland & Ellis represented Fortress.

Sullivan & Cromwell has nabbed financing and restructuring expert Jacqueline Wenchen Tang as a partner in Hong Kong from fellow U.S. firm Kirkland & Ellis.

Clifford Chance, Kirkland & Ellis and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas have advised Swiss PE firm Partners Group on its $400 million acquisition of Indian renewable energy platform Sunsure Energy, which was represented by Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.

King & Spalding has hired investigations and white-collar crime expert Richard Sharpe as a partner in Singapore. Sharpe joins from the Hong Kong office of Kirkland & Ellis.

U.S. law firm Goodwin Procter has hired private equity specialist Daniel Dusek as partner in Hong Kong from Kirkland & Ellis.

Clifford Chance has hired Xing Liyong, an expert in funds and investment management, as a partner in its Hong Kong office from Kirkland & Ellis.

​​​​​​​Kirkland & Ellis has hired private equity and M&A lawyer Peng Yu as a partner in its Hong Kong office from Ropes & Gray.

Capital markets specialist Howie Farn has joined Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as a partner in Hong Kong from Kirkland & Ellis.