Stephenson Harwood has advised on two transactions recognised as 'Deals of the Year' at the 2016 Asian Lawyer Emerging Markets Awards.

The firm advised Indonesian shipping company PT Berlian Laju Tanker on its restructuring, which was awarded 'finance deal of the year: insolvency' and advised Digicel Group on the sale of a 75 percent stake in Digicel Asian Holdings which received the 'M&A deal of the year: TMT' award.

In the first of these deals, Stephenson Harwood advised PT Berlian Laju Tanker in relation to the shipping law aspects of its financial restructuring. The multi-jurisdictional deal, which involved restructuring PT Berlian's US$2 billion senior notes to resolve the business's financial distress, saw some of PT Berlian's assets being transferred to a new company, which is majority owned by a group of syndicated lenders. This meant that PT Berlian's debt would be forgiven and the business was able to continue operations. The rare solution was made possible through a series of legal documentation in Singapore and Indonesia.

The Stephenson Harwood team was led by partner Roy Chan, with support from associates Amy Chow, paralegal Catherine Tse and legal manager Starry Wong.

In the second, Stephenson Harwood (Singapore) Alliance was one of the law firms advising Digicel Group on the sale of a 75 percent stake in Digicel Asian Holdings, the indirect parent company of Myanmar Tower Company, to edotco Group Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Malaysia's Axiata Group. With an enterprise value of US$221 million, this was one of the largest cross-border M&A deals in the telecom sector in Myanmar, and required numerous approvals from relevant Myanmar regulatory bodies and Government Ministries. Earlier this year, the transaction was also awarded 'M&A Mid-Size Deal of the Year 2016' by Asian Legal Business.

The Stephenson Harwood (Singapore) Alliance team was led by partner Tom Platts, with support from of counsel Helen Rhind-Hufnagel, partner Allan Tan and associate Kyaw Zin Htet.

"It is a testament to the calibre of our teams that they are consistently instructed to advise in relation to complex, high-value and multi-jurisdictional matters," said Voon Keat Lai, Greater China managing partner, Stephenson Harwood. "We congratulate our clients for having won these awards, and were pleased to have been able to help them achieve their ambitions."