Thomas M. Shoesmith
Partner

Mr. Shoesmith specializes in international corporate transactions, with a special emphasis on China. He has handled more than 100 cross-border acquisitions and complex multinational joint ventures involving more than 50 countries around the world. Since 2003, he has focused most of his efforts on transactions in and with China, including foreign direct investment into the PRC as well as corporate finance and public capital markets transactions for PRC-based companies.

Mr. Shoesmith lived in Asia for more than 20 years, and practiced in China between 2003 and 2010. Until his return to California in 2010 he was the head of the firm’s Shanghai office. His relocation to the United States makes his decades of experience in Asia readily accessible to clients based in the US and Canada.

Mr. Shoesmith is a recognized expert and speaker on US-China corporate finance and M&A matters. He has particular expertise in structuring transactions to achieve his clients’ objectives while remaining compliant with the often difficult regulatory and political context of the PRC.

Mr. Shoesmith’s experience includes:

• Representation of Lenovo Group Ltd. in its complex international joint venture with EMC Corporation;
• Representation of more than 15 China-based companies in connection with their public equity capital market financings in the United States;
• Representation of Tele Atlas, the Dutch digital mapping company, in its expansion into the PRC market;
• The negotiation of a $1 billion joint venture for the manufacture of flat-panel displays in China;
• The acquisition of a specialty chemicals company in China for a US public company headquartered in the mid-West;
• The roll-up of social media and internet file-sharing companies for a private-equity backed US company;
• Representation of Ingram Micro in several international acquisitions; and
• Representation of investment banks and hedge funds in analysis and evaluation of PRC investments.

Speaker, "Introduction to Internet Regulation in China," Pillsbury CLE Marathon, San Francisco and Silicon Valley, January 2013

Speaker, "NOMURA Expert Speaker Series: Variable Interest Entities", July 2012.

Speaker, "PRC Challenges to Variable Interest Entity Structures, " DealFlow Reverse Merger Conference, Los Angeles, June 2011.

Speaker, The Peculiarities and Challenges of Doing Business in China, McKesson Law Firm Summit, September 2010.

Moderator, "Opportunities and Challenges of Investing in China," Halter Financial Summit, Shanghai, China. April 2010.

Speaker, " IPOs for China-based Companies - Structures and Approaches" China IPO Boot Camp, Shanghai, China. March 2010.

Speaker, "Going Public Through an IPX," joint presentation with Bank of New York Mellon and CCG Investor Relations, Shanghai and Beijing, April 2009.

Speaker, "Reverse Mergers for Chinese Companies," PIPEs Summit, New York. July 2007.

Speaker, "Structuring for International Capital Transactions," DealFlow Reverse Merger Conference, San Francisco. June 2007.

Speaker, "Structuring Reverse Merger Transactions After September 8," Roth / NASDAQ Conference, Shanghai. May 2007.

Speaker, Harvard China Review Annual Conference, Cambridge, MA. April 2007.

Speaker, "Protecting Intellectual Property in China," Annual IP Review, New York. April 2007.

Speaker, "Compliance Issues for Chinese Companies Public in the U.S.," Halter Financial Group, Phuket, Thailand. March 2007.

Speaker, "Legal and Practical Considerations for China M&A," Shanghai. September 2004.

Speaker, Executive Roundtable on Foreign Trade and Distribution Regulation, Shanghai. June 2004.

Chair, "China Real Estate Funds & Investment 2004," Shanghai. April 6, 2004.

Speaker, "Venture Capital Financing in China," Asia Pacific Business Outlook Conference, Los Angeles. March 2004.

Speaker, "Mezzanine Financing for Real Estate Development in China," American Chamber of Commerce, Shanghai. November 2003.

Speaker, 2003 Forbes Global CEO Conference, Shanghai: "Banking and Capital Markets in China." September 2003.

Speaker, Financial Executives International Conference, Suzhou: "Sarbanes Oxley—What Financial Officers of Foreign Subsidiaries Need to Know." September 2003.