Overview  

Cheng Kee Check graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1989 and was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1990. He was also called to the Malaysian Bar in 1990. He commenced practice with Skrine immediately after that and has been a partner of the firm since 1997.

Throughout his practice, Kee Check has been involved in a broad range of corporate work that has included takeovers, reverse takeovers, mergers and acquisitions and restructurings of well-known corporations in Malaysia. He has also been involved in the listings of companies on Bursa Malaysia and in capital markets work such as advising clients on the issuance of instruments such as bonds, loan stocks and warrants. He is also one of the lawyers involved in the issuance of the first call warrants in Malaysia and he has advised a number of banks in Malaysia on issues surrounding derivatives transactions. His other areas of work include foreign investments into Malaysia and corporate advisory work.

Kee Check has been listed as a leading lawyer in Malaysia for his Corporate/ M & A work in Chambers Global and Chambers Asia in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and by the Practical Law Company on M & A practitioners in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

  Further Details  

Areas of Practice
Acquisitions, Mergers & Takeovers, Corporate/ Debt Restructuring, Corporate Finance, Foreign Investments, Insurance, Joint Ventures, Securities.

Professional Affiliations
Member of the Inter Pacific Bar Association

Qualifications
Advocate & Solicitor, High Court of Malaya and Singapore

LLB (Hons) Singapore

Language Proficiency
English and Malay

  Experience  

Some of the matters on which Cheng Kee Check has been involved in are:-

Mergers & Acquisitions

• Acted for Golden Hope Plantations Berhad and Mentakab Rubber Company (Malaya) Berhad ("Mentakab") in the transaction involving the merger of Golden Hope Plantations Berhad, Mentakab, Sime Darby Berhad and two of its listed subsidiaries and Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad and two of its listed subsidiaries, to form Synergy Drive Bhd (now renamed Sime Darby Berhad). The transaction involved a total of eight listed companies and the total size of the transaction was about RM32 billion. The enlarged merged group is one of the largest oil palm plantation companies in the world.

• Principal partner in acting for Golden Hope Plantations Berhad in the RM3.2 billion rationalisation exercise with Island & Peninsular Berhad involving the plantations business and the property development business of both these companies. The RM3.2 billion rationalisation exercise involved the exchange of substantial assets between the two companies resulting in one company focusing on plantations business and the other on property development.

• Acted for the offeror in the voluntary general offer for the shares of Island and Peninsular Berhad, a property development company listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia, including the compulsory acquisition following from the general offer.

• Acted for The London Assurance ("TLA"), a subsidiary of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group Plc, in the disposal by TLA of its 45% shareholding in Royal & Sun Alliance (M) Bhd to Boustead Holdings Berhad, a public listed company in Malaysia.

• Acted for Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited ("Fairfax") in the acquisition by Fairfax of the entire share capital of The Pacific Insurance Berhad from PacificMas Berhad.

• Acted for Malaysian Oxygen Berhad ("MOX"), the largest industrial gas manufacturer in Malaysia in its takeover of Nissan Industrial Oxygen Incorporated Berhad ("NIOI"), a public listed company involved in the manufacturing of industrial gas and the subsequent mandatory general offer, the compulsory acquisition following thereto and the merger of the businesses of the two companies.

• Acted for Tupperware Corporation in the acquisition by a subsidiary of Tupperware Corporation of shares in Nutri-Metics Worldwide (M) Sdn. Bhd.

• Acted for Kedah Cement Holdings Berhad in relation to the takeover of its shares by M-Cement Sdn Bhd.

• Corporate restructuring/merger of Royal Insurance (Malaysia) Berhad and Sun Alliance Insurance (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd to form Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance (M) Bhd.

• Acted for Danaharta in the disposal of the shares of Perak-Hanjoong Simen Sdn Bhd to YTL Cement Berhad.

• Acted for the vendor in the sale of Soctek Sdn Bhd together with the palm oil refinery to IOI Corporation Berhad.

  Publications  

• Co-author of the Malaysian chapter for the Mergers and Acquisitions Yearbook 2003 published by the International Financial Law Review.

Delivered the following presentations:

• Delivered a talk on how Section 132G of the Companies Act 1965 affects related party transactions at a conference organised by the Centre for Management Technology.
• Delivered a talk on negotiating warranty terms at a conference organised by the Centre for Business Research.
• Presented a paper on legal factors to consider when restructuring a repayment scheme at a workout workshop organised by HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd.
• Presented the country briefing on Malaysia at the Pacific Rim Advisory Council's conference in India.