Yemi Tépé

“ Clients trust me to find creative financing solutions and execute deals efficiently with a dynamic and highly responsive team.

Yemi has over 18 years of experience advising clients on the full spectrum of financings including domestic and cross-border acquisition and leveraged finance, public to private takeovers, real estate finance, debt restructuring, margin loans, syndicated lending and subscription line financing.

She has represented clients on their significant transactions in Singapore, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Hong Kong, mainland China, the U.S. and across Europe. Her practice spans various sectors including: private equity, technology and telecoms, banks and financial institutions, education, energy and real estate.

Yemi brings deep transactional experience to the table, regularly advising on big-ticket mandates. Her clients include banks and financial institutions, private equity sponsors, multi-national corporations, alternative financiers such as credit funds, hedge funds and asset managers and emerging growth, mid-cap, and large public and privately held companies.

Praised by clients as a “strong partner” who is “very reliable, and never puts a step wrong” and whose “expertise blew everyone's socks away," Yemi is also described as “methodical in her work process”, “amazingly responsive” and “a very safe pair of hands” whose “solid work” clients describe as not having “to look over her shoulder, there’s a lot of trust.”

Yemi has been ranked as a leading lawyer for Banking and Finance by Chambers Global and Chambers Asia Pacific since 2011. She is highly regarded for her exceptional legal work including being recognized by IFLR1000, Legal 500 Asia Pacific and by the Best Lawyers, Singapore since 2014.

Yemi also plays an active role in recruiting, developing, and retaining diverse lawyers at MoFo and is a member of the firm’s Global Diversity Strategy Committee. She is also part of the global MoFoNext Task Force, responsible for identifying new strategic initiatives and investments for the firm. Additionally, she plays a significant role in mentoring and training our young associates. Outside of MoFo, Yemi is a member of the Singapore branch of the APLMA Documentation Committee.

Prior to moving to Singapore in 2012, Yemi worked for several years in London and Tokyo. She is also a fluent French speaker.

Representative Experience

• SoftBank Group Corp. in connection with senior and mezzanine acquisition facilities for OYO’s acquisition of Netherlands-based @Leisure.
• MUFG Bank, Ltd. on the leveraged buy-out of a PE sponsor’s bid for Godiva Japan and Godiva Australia.
• Bank of America N.A. as mandated lead arranger of the pre-IPO financing of a Singapore REIT listing sponsored by Urban Commons LLC.
• BlackRock on a pre-IPO convertible loan financing for Konew Corporation, a Hong Kong consumer loans finance group.
• BlackRock in relation to offshore and onshore acquisition financing in their acquisition of two blocks of grade-A office buildings in Changning, Shanghai from PGIM Real Estate, a property investment affiliate of Prudential Financial.
• PA Chokmah Investment Limited (wholly owned by Ping An Overseas Holdings), as lender in relation to a HK$500 million convertible loan to Wisdom Education International Holdings Company Limited, a Hong Kong listco, principally engaged in operating premium primary and secondary schools in China.
• Lenders and private equity funds in relation to various capital call/subscription facilities, fund financings and borrowing base facilities.
• An ultimate shareholder of GLP Pte. Ltd. (formerly Global Logistic Properties Limited) in relation to financing of its stake in the US$11.64 billion privatization of GLP, reported to be the largest-ever private equity buyout of an Asian company by enterprise value.
• MUFG Bank, Ltd. as mandated lead arranger and underwriter of acquisition facilities for two strategic acquisitions aggregating close to US$1billion by Siam City Cement Public Company Limited, a listco on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and Thailand’s second largest cement producer, from LafargeHolcim Ltd.
• MUFG Bank, Ltd. in relation to Singha Group's US$1 billion acquisition of minority stakes in the Masan Group.
• Partners Group in relation to acquisition financing for a bolt-on acquisition of the Danish A-Tex Group by the Trimco Group.
• Partners Group as arranger of acquisition facilities to Pamfleet Real Estate Fund for the acquisition of the “Nob Hill” estate in Hong Kong.
• CIMB as arranger of acquisition and debt pushdown facilities to Southern Capital in connection with the acquisition of the Canadian International School.
• ABN AMRO Bank and GE Capital in relation to acquisition facilities for Headland Capital Partners Limited in connection with the takeover by way of a scheme of arrangement of Kreuz Holdings Limited.
• Carlyle in relation to c. US$1.93 billion financing Senior Facilities and Mezzanine Facility Notes for its acquisition of Tyco Fire & Security Services Korea Co. Ltd.
• The Steering Committee in connection with the restructuring of Advantage Partners’ US$2 billion Senior, Mezzanine and PIK facilities in connection with its acquisition of Tokyo Star Bank, Limited.