Mr S Sivanesan > Dentons Rodyk > Singapore, Singapore > Lawyer Profile

A pre-eminent firm in the Singapore start-up and venture capital market, Dentons Rodyk is vastly experienced when assisting tech and fintech start-ups across the spectrum of financing transactions, from seed-stage to advanced stages including series E and F, trade sales, MBOs, IPOs and SPACs. One of those leading the practice is corporate specialist S Sivanesan, who acts for a broad range of clients including founders, start-ups, fund managers and venture capital funds. Co-head Sunil Rai is well regarded for outbound and inbound India-related transactions, having been involved in a number of significant deals involving high-growth emerging companies and unicorns in the region. Ray Chiang, promoted to partner in January 2023, is also a key contact for venture-backed deals with an Indian nexus, while fintech and blockchain expert Li Chuan Hsu is active at all stages of fund-raising, from start-up to pre- and post-IPO.

Dentons Rodyk is a leading presence in Singapore and the wider Southeast Asia region when advising prominent venture-backed entities across the spectrum of the investment life-cycle, from seed and advanced stages to trade sales, IPOs and SPACs. Particularly noteworthy for its cross-border transactional expertise, joint practice head S Sivanesan is highly sought after by founders, entrepreneurs, start-ups, capital and private equity funds. India-related transaction expert Sunil Rai is a go-to lawyer for high-growth emerging entities and unicorns in the region, while Li Chuan Hsu is particularly well-regarded for his experience in handling transactions with a Chinese nexus.

Dentons Rodyk reinforced its practice with the hire of highly-rated private funds specialist Emily Low from Atlas Asia Law Corporation in July 2022. She joins a team that has an impressive legacy practice that includes private equity, venture capital and fund launches under the VCC structure. Along with assisting asset managers with fund launches the firm also represents institutional investors. I-An Lim is an immensely experienced funds specialist with extensive experience in VCC structures and new fields such as cryptocurrency-related products. S Sivanesan is another key partner, rated for venture capital funds.

Counting vendors, acquirers and financiers across the technology, healthcare, corporate real estate, consumer products and financial services sectors among its key roster of clients, Dentons Rodyk leverages its comprehensive international network to advise on cross-border M&A, private equity and venture capital transactions. Praised as ‘a leading authority in M&A’, Marian Ho jointly leads the team alongside Eng Leng Ng and S Sivanesan, while other key contacts in the group include Valerie Ong, Evelyn Ang, Sunil Rai and Mark Wong.

Commended for its ‘great depth of talent and breadth of experience’, Dentons Rodyk is well-placed to collaborate with offices in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam, advising on domestic and cross-border M&A, private equity and venture capital transactions. The team acts for vendors, acquirers and financiers across the healthcare, technology, consumer goods, financial services, real estate and telecommunications sectors. Noted for his expertise in venture capital, start-ups and corporate governance mandates, S Sivanesan leads the team alongside Marian Ho, who is praised as a ‘leading authority on both M&A and corporate compliance matters’, and ‘dedicated, prompt and professional’ Eng Leng Ng.

Dentons Rodyk is described as being ‘very strong in the blockchain space’, with the team possessing expertise in areas such as capital raisings, privacy and data protection, regulatory compliance and tax. Kenneth Oh and Li Chuan Hsu co-lead the practice with the latter winning plaudits for his work alongside senior partner Jacqueline Loke in Ripple’s successful application for a major payment institution licence. S Sivanesan is highly skilled at handling cross-border and regional transactional work.