Lincoln International Opens Office in Beijing; Joe Chang to Lead Office

Lincoln International, a leading global mid-market investment bank, today announced the opening of its Beijing office. As part of this expansion, Joe Chang has joined Lincoln International as Managing Director and CEO of Lincoln International in China (“Lincoln-China”). Joe joins Lincoln International from Morgan Stanley, where he was a Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking of Morgan Stanley Huaxin Securities. Lincoln International now has 14 offices worldwide, including 11 in the top nine global economies ranked by GDP. With the opening of its Beijing office, Lincoln International now has offices in all of the BRIC countries.

Lincoln International has been active with Chinese companies since 2003 and has had personnel located in either Hong Kong or Shanghai since 2006. Historically, the focus of Lincoln International in China has been finding buyers on sell-side mandates for non-Chinese companies. Notable engagements where Lincoln International advised the seller on a transaction with a Chinese-based buyer include the following:

• Sale of Inalfa Roof Systems B.V. to Beijing Hainachuan Automotive Parts Co.
• Sale of Goss International to Shanghai Electric Group
• Sale of Neapco Inc. to Wanxiang Group

Lincoln International has also worked with companies being sold that have substantial assets in China. Most recently, Lincoln International worked with Precision Partners to sell a subsidiary located near Shanghai.

Finally, Lincoln International has worked on a selective basis with Chinese companies interested in making acquisitions outside of China including the following:

Wanxiang Group acquisition of the Driveline business of tedrive Holdings in Düren, Germany Fong’s Industries Company Limited’s acquisition of Monforts Group from L. Possehl & Co. GmbH, Germany

Lincoln International in China will offer highly effective merger and acquisition (“M&A”) advisory and capital raising services to its Chinese clients by leveraging its very active mid-market M&A and capital raising practices in Europe, North America, Japan, India, Russia and South America. While providing a full range of M&A services, the Beijing office will provide a best-in-class platform for introducing Chinese buyers to sell-side opportunities located outside of China.

In expanding its presence in China, Jim Lawson, Lincoln International’s Chairman, commented, “We have been working with Chinese companies for many years. We decided to open an office in Beijing now because of the right combination of timing and leadership. We see the volume of cross-border acquisitions by Chinese companies increasing significantly over the next several years. Additionally, we found the right leader for the business – someone that is highly experienced in doing deals both inside and outside of China.”

Joe Chang, Lincoln-China’s CEO, said, “Chinese corporates are looking at cross-border M&A as a way to buy technology, brands and increase competitiveness both at home and abroad. There are more than 2,400 Chinese corporations listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges and many of them have the financial flexibility to compete successfully in cross-border, mid-market deals. Lincoln International completes over 100 deals each year, a majority of which are sell-side M&A assignments. The firm’s mid-market opportunities in the U.S., Europe, Japan and other parts of the world are just what Chinese corporations want to access. I am excited to join Lincoln International and introduce these sell-side mid-market opportunities to Chinese corporates.”

Prior to joining Lincoln International, Joe Chang was a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley and head of investment banking and deputy general manager of Morgan Stanley Huaxin Securities (“MSHX”), Morgan Stanley’s investment banking joint venture in China. He also headed Morgan Stanley’s Infrastructure Fund (“MSI”) in China. Before MSI and MSHX, Joe worked on IPO and M&A assignments for Chinese and multi-national clients in Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division in Beijing. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Joe was CFO of hiSoft. Joe also spent eight years from 1998 to 2005 with GE Consumer Finance and with Credit Suisse’s investment banking department based in Hong Kong, New York and Tokyo. Joe received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his graduate degree from Kyoto University. He is fluent in Mandarin, English and Japanese.

In addition to Joe Chang, the Beijing office includes bankers experienced working with Lincoln International. One of the experienced members of the Beijing office is Charles Hedden. Charles has been working with Lincoln International in the U.S. since 2010. Charles is an American and fluent in English and Mandarin. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School and an MA from the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Fellow of the Lauder Institute Global MBA program and an alumnus of the Chinese international program. Charles previously lived in China from 2002 through 2004 working for the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange as an editor for China Money magazine after finishing his BA in Economics at The College of William and Mary. He made the permanent move to Beijing in November 2012 to open Lincoln International’s Beijing office, and was instrumental in closing Lincoln International’s first China to China transaction in December 2012.

Lincoln-China is in the process of forming an Advisory Board. Chen Shuang, CEO of China Everbright Limited, is joining the Lincoln-China Advisory Board.

About Lincoln International

Lincoln International specializes in merger and acquisition advisory services, debt advisory services, private capital raising and restructuring advice on mid-market transactions. Lincoln International also provides fairness opinions, valuations and pension advisory services on a wide range of transaction sizes. With fourteen offices in the Americas, Asia and Europe, Lincoln International has strong local knowledge and contacts in key global economies. The firm provides clients with senior-level attention, in-depth industry expertise and integrated resources. By being focused and independent, Lincoln International serves its clients without conflicts of interest. More information about Lincoln International can be obtained at www.lincolninternational.com.