Overview
Robert Leung is a partner in Mergers & Acquisition and Private Equity practices at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office. Robert has advised an array of clients (corporations, financial institutions, private investment funds, and family offices) on both domestic and cross-border (primarily in Latin America) M&A, private equity, and financing transactions. He has particular experience advising clients in the energy, natural resources, infrastructure, and retail industries.
Recognitions
- Latinvex, Corporate/M&A: Top 100 Lawyer (2023)
- IFLR1000, Notable Practitioner (2023)
- The Legal 500 USA, M&A: Large Deals $1Bn+ (2022-2023)
- The Legal 500 USA, Project Finance (2022)
Education
- Yale Law School, J.D., 1994
- Cornell University, B.A., Economics and Government, 1991
Representations
Strategic Transactions
- Advising Luz del Sur in the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Sojitz Arcu Investments, indirect owners of the Majes Arcus and Reparticion power plants located in Peru’s Arequipa.
- Advising Jaguar Growth Partners in connection with the formation of a joint venture with JHJ Logistics Limtied to acquire Brilliant (Shanghai) Enterprise Management Consulting Co., Ltd.
- Advising Prize in connection with its plan to go public in a SPAC merger with Rose Hill Acquisition Corporation.
- Advising Glenfarne Group in the acquisition of Termonorte S.A.S. E.S.P., a subsidiary and public utilities company in Colombia, that has the operation of the thermal generation plant Termonorte located in Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia.
- Advising Inversiones e Inmobiliaria GHC Ltda (d/b/a Grupo Prize), a leading exporter of superfruits based in Chile in its definitive business combination agreement with Rose Hill Acquisition Corporation, a publicly- traded SPAC that will result in Prize becoming the first Chilean enterprise directly listed on a U.S. stock exchange.
- Advising Transtech Glass Investment Limited, a Peruvian headquartered marker of specialty high-end automotive glass in multiple rounds of private equity investments totaling over $1 billion from a variety of international sources including BDT Capital and others.
- Advising SD Biosensor and SJL Partners in $1.53 billion all-cash transaction to acquire Meridian Bioscience, Inc., a Nasdaq listed global provider of diagnostic testing solutions and life science raw materials. (M&A Deal of the Year (Over $1B) - The M&A Advisor M&A Awards 2023)
- Advised Glenfarne Group LLC and it’s Latin American sustainable and renewable power platform EnfraGen, LLC in three separate acquisitions of gas fired power plants in Colombia – Termoflores 610MW gas fired power plant, Termovalle 241MW gas fired power plant, and Termonorte 93MW gas fired power plant.
- Advised Carlos Rodriguez Pastor as the sponsor of a potential SPAC in Peru.
- Advised Quicorp, parent company of Quimica Suiza and one of the largest pharmacy retail chains in Perú, in its acquisition by InRetail Perú through an international auction process. (LatinFinance’s Domestic M&A Deal of the Year).
- Advised Glenfarne Group in the acquisition by Partners Group of a 50% interest in EnfraGen, LLC, a developer, owner and operator of sustainable and renewable power generation assets throughout Latin America.
- Advised Uxlam Assets Corp. and its affiliates in the acquisition of Murray’s Colombian coal production business by the purchase of the group of companies that are part of Colombian Natural Resources (Murray Energy Corp., now American Consolidated Natural Resources, acquired CNR).
- Advised Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.B. de C.V., a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, in connection with the long-term purchase and joint venture agreements entered into with commodities trader, Trafigura, to develop a marine terminal for the receipt, storage and delivery of refined products in Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico.
- Advised the buyers in connection with the potential acquisition of educational assets in Peru through an international auction process.
- Advised a financial institution in its bid to acquire and project finance a transmission line project and related assets in Peru.
- Advised a financial institution in connection with its bid to acquire a Peruvian pension fund manager.
- Advised YPF S.A. in the sale of a 24.99% stake in YPF Energía Eléctrica S.A., its electricity generation unit, to affiliates of GE Energy Financial Services.
- Advised Gala Global Assets Corporation, in the sale of operational and development-stage power generation assets in Mexico to Arroyo Energy.
- Advised a financial institution in its bid to acquire and project finance an open-cycle gas fired power plant, a regasification plant and related gas pipeline and a liquefied petroleum gas terminal in Colombia.
- Advised Goldman, Sachs & Co. as seller of its Colombian mining operations to Murray Energy Corporation. The mining operations consist of two developed surface coal mines, La Francia and El Hatillo, three undeveloped mines, an Atlantic coal port loading facility, interests in an Atlantic railway route, and related assets.
- Advised in the formation of Javelin Global Commodities as a joint venture between former Goldman Sachs commodities executives, Murray Energy Corporation and Uniper Group (formerly E.ON), and related coal marketing arrangements and hedging lines of credit.
- Advised Colombian families in sale of Port of Barranquilla to Southern Cross, a Chilean private equity fund.
- Advised Erdenes Tavan Talgoi, the state-owned Mongolian coal company, in connection with a potential international joint venture and related financing to develop the Tavan Talgoi coal deposit.
- Advised Goldman, Sachs & Co. in the sale of two hydroelectric power plants and five development licenses in Turkey to a local power company.
- Advised Guatemalan agribusiness Central Agroindustrial Guatemalteca in its acquisition of a power station and related solid fuel handling and port assets in Guatemala from U.S. coal producer Teco Energy, in a deal valued at $215 million.
- Advised an affiliate of EG Capital in connection with the sale of Waterpik to MidOcean Partners and coinvestors Vulcan Capital, Northwestern Mutual, and Cheyenne, in a transaction valued in excess of $335 million.
- Advised NuStar Energy LP in connection with the sale of its asphalt operations to private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg.
- Advised Goldman, Sachs & Co. as purchaser of the Colombian coal mining assets (and related port and railway assets) from Vale in a transaction valued at $407 million.
- Advised Goldman, Sachs & Co., in the sale of its equity stake in CBAS Power Holdings, the parent company of various solar power and cogeneration facilities in Colorado, California, and Florida.
- Advised Inka Farma, the largest retail pharmacy chain in Peru in its sale to an affiliate of the Interbank Group.
- Advised Goldman, Sachs & Co. as purchase of the Colombian coal mining assets of Coalcorp Mining Inc., a publicly-listed Canadian company, in a transaction spanning seven jurisdictions and valued over $200 million.
- Advised Alfa Partners Limited and Coban Holdings, Inc. in the disposition by Alfa and Coban’s joint venture partner Royal Ahold of its interest in Central American Retail Holding Company to Walmart Stores, Inc., negotiation of shareholder arrangements between Alfa, Coban, and Walmart and Alfa and Coban’s subsequent disposition of interests in CARHCO to Walmart. Subsequently, advised Alfa and Coban in connection with the sale of their interests in Walmart Centroamerica to Walmart de Mexico in a transaction valued at $2.7 billion.
- Advised EG Capital in its acquisition of Waterpik from Carlyle.
Finance
- Advised Compañía Minera Antamina S.A. (Antamina), owner and operator of one of the world's largest copper/zinc mines in Peru, in its refinancing of its $1.32 billion project financing; the refinancing took the form of a $411 million credit facility; in several subsequent and related transactions, advised Antamina in multiple unsecured term and revolving credit facilities.
- Advised EG Capital in connection with an approximately $200 million levered recapitalization of Waterpik.
- Advised Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network in connection with its secured revolving credit facility. In a subsequent transaction, advised YES in connection with the issuance of subordinated notes.
- Advised EG Capital in connection with the acquisition financing for the acquisition of Waterpik, which consisted of a first and second lien secured credit facility.
- Advised Caithness Long Island, LLC in connection with a project financing for the greenfield development of a power plant, including negotiation of the EPC contract and the PPA.
- Advised Wynn Las Vegas, LLC, as borrower, in connection with $1.125 billion senior secured credit facility to finance the construction of a hotel and casino in Las Vegas.
- Advised the sponsor of a Colombian power plant in the negotiation of its project financing as a result of a force majeure event.
news
- Paul Hastings Advised Javelin in Investment by ITOCHU - August 14th, 2024
- Paul Hastings Advised Javelin on Agreements with Battery Mineral Resources - February 15th, 2024
- Paul Hastings Advised EnfraGen in the Acquisition of Six Renewable Projects in Central America and Related Financing - November 21st, 2023
- Paul Hastings Advises BLU Logistics in its Sale to the Rhenus Group - September 25th, 2023
- Paul Hastings Advised Agrokasa in its Sale to Grupo HAME - September 22nd, 2023
- Paul Hastings Again Recognized as “Highly Recommended” by Latin Lawyer 250 - September 1st, 2023
- Three Paul Hastings Partners Named Among Latin America’s 2023 “Top 100 Lawyers” by Latinvex - August 2nd, 2023
- Paul Hastings Advised Metals Acquisition Limited in Acquisition of CSA Copper Mine from Glencore for $1.1 Billion - June 23rd, 2023
- Paul Hastings Advises Glenfarne Energy in Acquisition of Six Renewable Operating Assets in Panama and Costa Rica - May 12th, 2023
- Paul Hastings Advises Luz del Sur in Solar Power Plant Acquisition - April 4th, 2023
- Paul Hastings Advises Jaguar Global Growth Corporation I in Business Combination with GLAAM - March 3rd, 2023
- Paul Hastings Advised SD Biosensor and SJL Partners in Acquisition of Meridian Bioscience - February 6th, 2023
- Paul Hastings Advises Prize in Business Combination with Rose Hill Acquisition Corporation - October 20th, 2022
- Paul Hastings Recognized and “Highly Recommended” by Latin Lawyer - August 19th, 2022
- Paul Hastings Recognized in Legal 500 Latin America Guide - October 27th, 2021
- AGP Group Announces Long-Term Partnership with BDT Capital Partners - April 23rd, 2021
- Paul Hastings Ranked in Top 3 International Law Firms by Latinvex - March 22nd, 2021
- Paul Hastings Recognized in Legal 500 Latin America Guide - October 21st, 2020
- Sagicor Financial Corporation Completes Business Combination with Alignvest - December 11th, 2019
- EnfraGen to Acquire Two Gas-Fired Power Plants in Colombia - August 19th, 2019
Recognitions
- Four Paul Hastings Partners Named Among Latin America’s 2024 “Top 100 Lawyers” by Latinvex - May 14th, 2024
- Three Paul Hastings Partners Named Among Latin America’s 2023 “Top 100 Lawyers” by Latinvex - August 2nd, 2023
- Latin Lawyer Recognizes Paul Hastings on its "Highly Recommended" List - August 19th, 2022
- Recognized for Excellence in Legal 500 Latin America 2021 Guide - October 27th, 2021
- Recognized In Legal 500 Latin America Guide - October 21st, 2020
- Recognized by LatinFinance for the 2018 M&A Deal of the Year - January 31st, 2019
Involvement
Robert is actively engaged in national and local bar associations as well as in his community, and is involved with a number of not-for-profit organizations. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) from 2006 through 2016, and served as President of the AABANY from 2010 to 2011. He currently serves as co-chair of AABANY’s Career Placement Committee and Judiciary Committee.