Kyle LEE

Significant transactions that Kyle has been involved in include advising / acting for the following:

Start-up / Venture Capital 

• Xora Innovation, an early-stage investment platform of Temasek, in its incorporation of and pre-seed convertible note investment into Amperesand, the first deep tech spin-out start-up that aims to commercialise solid state transfers technologies based on patents developed by National Technology University (“NTU”) scientist. Amperesand is under a S$75 million pilot program between NTU, Temasek and National University of Singapore to accelerate deep tech spinoffs from universities.
• Wavemaker Partners in the US$20 million series B round of Lhoopa, which forms part of a larger US$80 million funding round comprising both equity and debt components, making it one of the biggest funding rounds by a startup in the Philippines to date and one of Southeast Asia’s largest startup funding rounds in 2024.
• Paper.id, an Indonesian B2B fintech company in their Series B funding round led by Square Peg. The round saw participation from new investor SMBC Asia Rising Fund, co-founded by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Incubate Fund, along with existing investor Argor Capital.

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Award-winning public M&A transactions such as the S$13.8 billion contested cash offer for Fraser and Neave, Limited by TCC Assets Limited and Thai Beverage Public Company Limited, in what was then the largest M&A transaction in Singapore's corporate history.
• Private M&A transactions such as the acquisition by CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and CapitaLand Open End Real Estate Fund of a Grade-A office building at 79 Robinson Road for S$1.3 billion.
• Cross-border M&A transactions such as merger of Singapore founded digital therapeutics company Biofourmis with US-based at-home health monitoring company, CopilotIQ.

Private Equity 

• Private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds such as KKR & Co. as shareholder of PropertyGuru in the US$1.8 billion merger with Bridgetown 2 Holdings, a SPAC backed by Richard Li and Peter Thiel.

Fintech 

• FinTech providers such as banks, big data companies, ICO issuers, private share exchanges and FinTech start-ups on matters such as United Overseas Bank Limited's strategic alliance with Grab Holdings Inc. to deliver financial services to Grab Holdings Inc’s ASEAN-wide user base.

Related Practices

• FinTech
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Private Equity
• WPGrow: Start-Up / Venture Capital

• Singapore Law Watch – Industry insight article - fundraising 101: Low tide in the South-East Asia venture capital and start-up ecosphere – Observations on fraud and down rounds and pay-to-play structure trends in 2024, Singapore Academy of Law 
• WLG Venture Capital Guide – Singapore Chapter  
• Practical Law Private Equity and Venture Capital Global Guide – venture capital investment in Singapore 
• VIMA Term Sheet – A road map for a start-up’s relationship with investors 
• Getting the Deal Through – Private Equity, Transactions Singapore Chapter - 2016 -2018 editions
• ICOs and Blockchain - different this time?
   

Chambers Asia Pacific – Asia-Pacific's Leading Lawyers for Business

• Startups & Emerging Companies: Band 1 
• Fintech: Band 3  
• Indonesia: Expert Based Abroad 

He has "distinguished himself as the go-to partner for all things venture-related in Singapore. He brings an extremely thoughtful approach to transactions and blends that with acute commercial sensibilities."

"Kyle is very responsive and understands my commercial objectives very quickly. It is very useful to tap into his knowledge for current market trends."

"As a client you feel that you are in good hands with Kyle looking around the corners for you."

"Kyle's strategic vision and leadership are complemented by the unique strengths of his team members."

"Kyle Lee has very deep and practical knowledge of the industry and our business. He's very good with clients and a good negotiator, and he looks at the big picture; he's a superstar in my eyes."

"I found Kyle to be very knowledgeable and helpful for our clients' matters in Singapore. He is very professional and responsive to our clients' needs."

"Kyle is one of the leading guys in market. He's extremely hands-on, very commercial and able to drive people to the solution."

"Kyle is a very impressive lawyer. He has a deep understanding of the startup M&A sector. He is able to provide practical solutions and advice, and is also a very pleasant person to work with."

"Kyle is a very intelligent lawyer. He could provide insightful and practical solutions for complex matters."

"He's one of the leading guys in the market. He's extremely hands-on, very commercial and able to drive people to the solution."

"I like working with Kyle as he is fast, responsive and understands the market well."

"Kyle Lee's advice is always contextual, practical, straightforward and commercially focused."

The Legal 500: Asia Pacific – The Client’s Guide to the Asia Pacific Legal Profession

• Start-up and Venture Capital – Leading Partner  
• Corporate/M&A – Next Generation Partner   

He is "highly attuned to shifts and nuances in venture capital transactions" and being "a lateral thinker who provides novel insights to complex problems".

"Kyle Lee has extensive experience in a variety of M&A transaction types, and built up the coverage in a short span of time. He collaborates widely, always approachable and willing to build strong relationships."

"Kyle Lee and his team are able to exercise superb attention to detail to our transactions. Their responsiveness is phenomenal, with tight turnarounds on queries and work. We have found Kyle and his team especially helpful in technically complex transactions." 

IFLR1000: Financial & Corporate – The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

• M&A – Highly Regarded   

A "rational counterpart who not only delivers effective legal outcomes but can also bring both sides of a negotiation closer during difficult discussions".

"Kyle is an expert in venture capital deals in Singapore and has a wealth of experience working with various players in the industry. He is able to offer strategic insight into deals and can anticipate potential outcomes and consequences of specific deal mechanics. Furthermore, Kyle is able to balance his strategic approach with commercial acumen and sensitivity to the specific risk/reward preferences of his clients. He is able to provide concise and timely input on the most important issues, while also recognising when certain details can be overlooked."

"Kyle is a very pleasant person to work with. He is an expert in his practice area. He is able to provide sound advice by taking into consideration the relevant elements."

"Kyle’s reputation only grows from year to year. Having worked with Kyle for more than a decade, he consistently combines legal experience and commercial acumen across a broad variety of deals that he partners us on. Beyond a high degree of trust in Kyle’s opinions, we also look to him as a rational counterpart who not only delivers effective legal outcomes but can also bring both sides of a negotiation closer during difficult discussions."

"He understands the venture capital ecosystem very well and brings a creative and incisive problem-solving mindset to the negotiating table. He demonstrates a very broad and deep understanding of the legal theory underpinning the legal clauses and how they would apply in a real-world scenario."

asialaw – The definitive guide to Asia's Leading Law Firms and Lawyers

• Corporate/M&A – Distinguished Practitioner 

Asian Legal Business (ALB) 

• Rising Star in ALB's Rising Stars Singapore 2022.