James Ford

Partner

James Ford is a partner in O'Melveny's Hong Kong office and a member of the Investment Funds & Securitization Practice within the Transactions Department. Prior to relocating to Hong Kong, James was a partner in O'Melveny's London office. James’ expertise has been recognized with leading rankings in a number of legal directories, including Chambers UK and the Legal 500, to whom clients have commented that he is “a great negotiator with a proven ability to get things done” and praised his “commercial awareness and attention to detail”.

James has a wide range of experience in private equity and venture capital transactions, including traditional fundraisings, secondary transactions, M&A, strategic investments and capital markets transactions.

Illustrative Professional Experience

Fund Formation

• Advising a Hong Kong based private equity house on the formation of a unique hybrid pledge/blind pool fund for investment in Greater China.
• Advising a number of leading continental European private equity groups on formation of their most recent funds.
• Advising a leading emerging markets private equity group on establishment of their third series of funds (and first global fund).
• Advising significant Asian and European limited partners on their global private equity fund investment and co-investment activities.
• Advising a leading private wealth manager on establishment of a series of fund-of-funds and feeder funds, and their related investment activities.

Secondaries and M&A

• Advising a syndicate of leading secondary investors on their acquisition of a majority stake in Polygon Recovery Fund, and the related acquisition by Polygon Recovery Fund of a portfolio of investments from Polygon Global Opportunities Master Fund.
• Advising leading secondaries investors on a wide range of transactions including the £500 million acquisition of a 70% interest in the Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance portfolio (and the associated spin out of the BoSIF management team); the £125 million acquisition of 3i’s venture capital portfolio (comprising around 30 separate investments); the acquisition of Abbey National’s private equity portfolio (which comprised some US$1.33 billion in commitments), the spin out of the ABN AMRO life science team and portfolio and the take-private of the Prelude Trust venture capital portfolio.
• Advising the management team of a UK regional private equity house on its buyout from the Aberdeen Asset Management group.

Strategic Investments

• Advising on the acquisition by a sovereign wealth fund of an interest in a leading private equity management business.

Capital Markets

• Advising Apollo Management on the formation of AP Alternative Assets, a US$1.5 billion single manager fund-of-funds listed on Euronext Amsterdam.
• Advising Ingenious Media Active Capital on its £150 million placing and admission to trading on AIM.
• Advising Spectrum Interactive Plc on its admission to trading on the AiM market of the London Stock Exchange.
• Advising private equity fund-of-funds manager on a proposed quoted private equity fund of funds vehicle.
• Advising a number of venture capital trust managers on the establishment, fundraisings and capital restructurings of their client trusts and on their incentive schemes.

Professional Activities

Admitted, Solicitor, Supreme Court of England and Wales
Languages, English