Sang Jin Han is a partner based in the Hong Kong office. Mr. Han was resident in the Firm’s New York office from 1996 to 2008, and became a partner of the Firm in January 2005.
Mr. Han’s practice focuses on corporate and financial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate and acquisition financing, and public and private sector workouts and bankruptcy, with an emphasis on cross-border transactions.
In mergers and acquisitions transactions, Mr. Han’s matters include representation of:
- A consortium of existing shareholders in a going private transaction of SOKO Fitness & Spa Group through a short-form merger;
- A consortium of existing shareholders in a going private transaction of Funtalk China Holdings Limited;
- KT Corporation in its proposed sale of its majority stake in OJSC New Telephone Company, a telecommunications company in Russia;
- NHN Corporation in the sale of its majority stake in Ourgame Assets Limited, which operates online game services in China through its subsidiaries;
- SK Networks in its $700 million investment in MMX, a Brazilian listed iron ore mining company;
- Korea Investment Corporation in its $200 million investment in Chesapeake Energy Corporation; $2 billion investment in Merrill Lynch; $225 million investment in Frac Tech International and $100 million investment in Noble Holdings Limited;
- Cheil Worldwide in its establishment of a joint venture advertising company in France and its acquisitions of a U.S. digital marketing agency, The Barbarian Group, LLC, and a U.K. independent advertising agency, Beattie McGuinness Bungay Limited;
- TPG Star in its investment in MIE Holdings, a Chinese independent upstream oil company; and in the $145 million Reg S/Rule 144A IPO of MIE Holdings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange;
- LS Cable Ltd. in its acquisition of a Nasdaq-listed U.S. public company, Superior Essex Inc., which is the largest cross-border tender offer by a Korean company; and
- Hyosung Corporation in its acquisition of two tire-cord manufacturing facilities in the United States from Michelin North America and the sale of one of the manufacturing facilities to a U.S. buyer, and in its acquisition of Global Safety Textiles, a leading airbag textiles producer headquartered in Germany.
In corporate and acquisition financing transactions, Mr. Han’s matters include representation of:
- TPG Capital in a placement of shares of Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. valued at US$1.25 billion;
- A consortium of private equity firms (including TPG Capital, KKR, Blackstone and Goldman Sachs) in the acquisition financing of their $11 billion acquisition of Biomet, Inc.;
- TPG Capital in the acquisition financing of its acquisition of the surgery division of Healthsouth;
- Gate Gourmet Group in connection with the refinancing of its outstanding credit facilities; and
- J. Crew Group in connection with multiple refinancings of its outstanding indebtedness.
In public and private sector workouts and bankruptcy transactions, Mr. Han’s matters include representation of:
- Nortel Networks in the Asia Pacific aspects on its on-going financial and business restructurings including asset sales;
- Gate Gourmet Group in connection with its global debt restructuring;
- SK Networks (formerly known as SK Global) in connection with its global debt restructuring in 2003, which was named "Restructuring Deal of the Year" by IFLR Asia;
- The Daewoo Group in connection with its global debt restructuring;
- Hynix Semiconductor in connection with its global debt restructuring; and
- The governments of Korea and Indonesia in connection with their external debt restructurings.
Mr. Han is recognized by
Chambers Global and
Chambers Asia as a leading corporate lawyer for South Korea.
Mr. Han received a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1996 and a B.A. degree,
magna cum laude, from Harvard College in 1992. He is a member of the Bar in New York, and a solicitor of the High Court of Hong Kong.
Mr. Han is a native Korean speaker.