Paul Hastings LLP has been profiled by Law360 as a 2022 Capital Markets “Practice Group of the Year.”

The profile noted the firm’s representation of LG Energy Solution in its $10.7 billion global offering, which was the largest IPO in South Korea’s history and made LG Energy Solution the country’s second-most valuable company.  

“I think what truly sets us apart from a number of our competitors is the ability for our Asia practice to handle matters across Asia, but that also feeds into some of the matters that we are working on in the U.S.,” said Chris DeCresce, Vice Chair of the firm’s Securities & Capital Markets practice.

Eric Sibbitt, Vice Chair of the firm’s Securities & Capital Markets practice and Co-Chair of the Global Fintech & Payments group, highlighted the firm’s capabilities working on transactions involving complex issues, notably the $660 million initial public offering of AvidXchange, a financial technology and payment processing company.

“I think we shine particularly in transactions where you need both sophisticated industry knowledge and regulatory expertise,” Mr. Sibbitt said. “All IPOs require excellence in capital markets execution. But in heavily regulated industries, like financial services and fintech, having the right depth and breadth of regulatory expertise is a critical component in accessing capital markets.”

Of the year’s uncertainty, Mr. Sibbitt said, “When markets are volatile and capital raise windows can open and shut and you never know how long they're going to stay open and when they're going to reopen again, being ready to execute quickly and in the right way becomes important.” He added, “The kind of typical IPO path may not be readily available, but there are other ways to access capital markets and pools of capital. Thinking through that is an important exercise for a lot of companies this year.”

Mr. DeCresce praised the group’s “continued growth, even in a down year,” noting that the team was able to shepherd several high-profile transactions.

Other notable matters that the global Paul Hastings team has handled include advising the initial purchasers in the $1.3 billion initial public of Kakaopay; the underwriters in Onewo Inc.'s $738 million initial public offering, the second largest IPO in the history of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; and Braskem Idesa, S.A.P.I., the largest polyethylene producer in Mexico, in its oversubscribed offering of sustainability-linked $1.2 billion 6.99% senior notes due 2032.

About Paul Hastings

With widely recognized elite teams in finance, mergers & acquisitions, private equity, restructuring and special situations, litigation, employment and real estate, Paul Hastings is a premier law firm providing superior intellectual capital and execution globally to the world’s leading investment banks, asset managers and corporations.