DFDL

Our Corporate and Mergers and Acquisitions team has an in-depth understanding of the region’s closely regulated sectors, notably financial services, technology, telecoms, industrial manufacturing, education, renewable energy, consumer and retail. We are not only legal advisors to our clients – but also strategic business partners. We find solutions and help clients assess risks by utilizing our extensive experience in emerging markets M&A.

Drawing upon the knowledge of practice and industry legal and tax advisers, we provide comprehensive transactional support, from target identification and the formulation of a M&A strategy to advice on due diligence, regulatory, deal structures and closing of transactions. With an award-winning integrated tax practice, we are also renowned for our ability to devise creative multi-jurisdictional structures to optimize tax benefits.

We represent a diverse range of clients on domestic and cross-border transactions, including global and regional private equity funds, international financial institutions, development finance institutions, banks, venture capital funds, small and large corporations, family offices, government owned entities and high net-worth individuals in some of their most complex transactions.

Through our ‘Connector Unit’, we also assist clients with deal origination by introducing domestic clients to offshore investors and funds, which has proven critical during periods in which the ability to travel has been constrained.

DFDL’s Regional M&A team has been consistently ranked by leading directories such as Chambers and Legal 500 across our jurisdictions.

The DFDL Dispute Resolution practice was established amid the runaway growth of domestic and foreign investments in the emerging markets of Southeast and South Asia, which naturally resulted in the exponential rise of commercial disputes. As a full-service legal and tax advisory firm, we provide end-to-end services to support our client’s dispute resolution needs using the most up-to-date legal mechanisms available.

Given our in-depth, intuitive understanding of regional markets, we are uniquely equipped to help our clients navigate, overcome and avoid contentious challenges – no matter how troublesome.

DFDL’s Regional Dispute Resolution practice group handles both conventional and alternative dispute resolution matters. Our team has decades of comprehensive on-the-ground expertise with broad sector-specific specializations in numerous business sectors. DFDL’s comprehensive suite of services are tailored to our clients’ needs, including corporate and commercial, regulatory and compliance affairs, banking and finance, real estate and construction, restructuring and insolvency, energy and infrastructure, employment and tax.

DFDL’s Employment practice believes that clear, legally compliant human resources documentation creates a solid foundation for good working relationships between employers and employees. Our Employment team is dedicated to preparing that solid basis and advising clients on all employment and labor issues that may arise.

DFDL clients benefit from our extensive experience in preparing employment agreements, internal regulations, and consultancy and contractor agreements. Our procedures comply with local laws and practices and meet clients’ operational needs. We can provide advice on a wide range of employment and labor matters, including employment entitlements, working hours, overtime, restrictions on foreign workers, employee transfers, secondments, terminations, severance, retirement, and dispute resolution.

Our varied client base includes global companies with subsidiaries throughout Southeast Asia, as well as embassies, international non-governmental) organizations, and international organizations operating in the region.

Our Real Estate and Hospitality team provides our clients with seamless, integrated, and solutions-oriented services on the full scope of real estate and property projects throughout the region. Our team of legal and tax experts has experience with major infrastructure development and construction projects, hospitality, retail, agriculture, and mining.

Our real estate team represents developers, financiers, contractors, and other project parties on commercial, industrial, residential, and mixed-use projects.

We regularly advise on land and building acquisitions and sales, construction contracts, joint venture agreements, leases, EPC contracts, offshore and onshore guarantee, and wrap around arrangements, turn-key projects. We have senior expertise and experience in residential, commercial, and large-scale infrastructure projects on BOT, BOO, BOOT, and other internationally recognized bases and structures.

"DFDL's real estate team offers extensive assistance to individual and corporate developers, with considerable experience advising on luxury hotel and residential developments. The team holds experience in advising clients on hotel management agreements, as well as general corporate, tax structuring, financing, land and contentious matters associated with real estate projects across the region." Chambers Asia

Restructuring is a part of business. When the need arises, the multidisciplinary DFDL team has extensive experience advising clients across a range of local and cross-border restructuring, refinancing and insolvency matters.

DFDL’s expertise in banking, corporate, energy, employment, real estate, insolvency and tax – complemented by our network of local litigators – positions us well to advise on complex restructuring, insolvency and cross-border matters and plan effective strategies. Our clients include debtors, creditors and other distressed entities across South and Southeast Asia.

DFDL is a member of the Global Restructuring and Insolvency Professionals network – a dynamic referral system of independent insolvency firms that further strengthens our capabilities and offerings.