Steven Franklin
Partner
Areas of Focus
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Corporate
- Shareholder Activism
- Corporate Governance
- Investment Management
- Hedge Funds
- Financial Restructuring
- Joint Ventures & Strategic Alliances
- Litigation Finance
- Private Equity
- Capital Solutions
- Private Capital
- Head of the Asia corporate practice and co-head of international strategic equity and shareholder activism.
- Band 1 Chambers-ranked shareholder activism practice, leading on many of the landmark and most consequential mandates over the past 15+ years for prominent investors in this asset class, with a focus on Europe and key markets across Asia-Pacific, including Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
- Widely recognized as a leading outside counsel to hedge funds, private equity firms and capital solutions investors across a broad spectrum of strategic equity, shareholder activism and capital solutions investments throughout Asia Pacific and Europe.
Steven is a dual-qualified corporate lawyer recognized for his leading practice advising on high-value, complex and cross‑border corporate matters. His practice is anchored in deep industry insight, commercial judgment and significant experience guiding clients on complex transactions across equity and hybrid capital investments.
Leveraging over 15 years of experience across London and Hong Kong covering key markets and jurisdictions in Europe and Asia, Steven provides comprehensive legal and strategic counsel to investment firms, financial institutions and corporations.
Core to his practice, Steven leads engagements for some of the most prolific, experienced and well-known shareholder activists (and the growing number of engagement-focused investors), covering the full investment lifecycle, including: stake-building, trading and exit strategies, position disclosures and reporting obligations, private and public engagement, corporate governance, shareholder rights and meetings, as well as the transactional elements of campaigns, including navigating take-private regimes across multiple jurisdictions.
His experience spans arbitrage trades to high-profile event and target-driven public campaigns, including several landmark situations involving corporate titans such as Samsung, Toshiba, BHP, BP, LSEG, LG Chem, Toyota Industries and Rio Tinto.
Steven is a highly sought-after corporate problem solver across strategic and private equity investments—providing bespoke advice to clients on public and private cross-border mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, shareholder activism and the corporate aspects of complex financial restructurings.
Steven has consistently received numerous industry honors. He is ranked as a Band 1 lawyer by Chambers UK for his notable work in the Shareholder Activism (Activist Representation) category. Clients and peers interviewed by Chambers highlighted how Steven’s “mastery of corporate law across jurisdictions melds with clear-cut analysis to deliver nothing short of commercial gold to clients,” with clients noting that Steven “always exceeds expectations in terms of quality of work, depth, and speed of execution.”
He was recently named among The Deal’s Top Legal Advisers to Activists for his work advising activist investor Palliser Capital. Steven was one of 30 lawyers to be included in the Asian Legal Business (ALB)’s Rising Stars Hong Kong list, which spotlights lawyers in Hong Kong who are doing high-quality work and earning accolades from their colleagues, superiors and clients.
- For more than 15 years, has co-led regular engagements for major investors across the Asia-Pacific and European strategic equity investments landscape, spanning pure arbitrage and other passive strategies to highly dynamic, public event and target-driven shareholder activism.
- Routinely provides activism and equity investment advice to Elliott Management, Palliser Capital, Farallon Capital Management, Oasis Management, Maven Securities, Ovata Capital and PLP Funds, among others.
- Has advised on notable campaigns involving investments and targets of significant scale and prominence, including the following:
- The proposed take private transaction of Toyota Industries Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of forklift trucks, by Toyota Fudosan Co. Ltd., the real estate arm of the Toyota Group.
- LG Chem, the largest chemical company in Korea.
- London Stock Exchange Group plc, a global provider of financial markets data and infrastructure.
- Toshiba Corporation, a leading multinational conglomerate across a number of sectors, including high-tech, infrastructure, and electronic devices.
- BP Plc, a global oil & gas supermajor.
- Keisei Electric Railway Co. Ltd., a major railway operator in Japan.
- Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second largest metals and mining corporation with a dual-listed company structure.
- Great Eastern, a leading life insurer in Singapore in relation to its proposed takeover by majority shareholder OCBC Bank.
- Tokyo Tatemono, a Japanese real estate development and management company.
- FTSE 250 Capricorn Energy Plc, including a campaign which involved changing the entire Board.
- The Bank of East Asia, one of the few remaining family managed and controlled listed banks in Hong Kong.
- Dai Nippon Printing, a leading Japanese automotive battery component supplier.
- SK Square, an investment arm of South Korean conglomerate SK Group.
- BHP Group, a multinational mining and metals corporation, in the context of a campaign to unify its previous dual-listed holding company structure.
- Toyo Tire, a Japanese tire manufacturer.
- Sumitomo Realty, one of the three largest real estate developers in Japan.
- Tokyo Gas, Japan’s largest gas utility company.
- SoftBank Group Corp, a leading Japanese telecommunications and technology conglomerate listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
- Taiheiyo Cement, Japan's largest cement manufacturer.
- Mitsui Fudosan, the largest Japanese real estate developer listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
- Samsung Group, in the context of the $8 billion merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.
- KKR’s proposed take-over of Hitachi Kokusai Electric.
- Ajinomoto Co. Inc., a Japanese multinational food and biotechnology corporation.
- Mitsui OSK Lines, one of the largest shipping companies in the world.
- Daikin Industries Ltd., a multinational conglomerate.
- Kansai Electric Power Company, one of the largest electric power companies in Japan.
“Steven stands atop everything related to global funds activism in connection with Asian companies, from regulatory, practical, to commercial aspects, which enables him to provide integrated advice.”
“His mastery of corporate law across jurisdictions melds with clear-cut analysis to deliver nothing short of commercial gold to clients.”
“Steven is the best in class; a strategic thinker and valued partner. He is one of the most trusted legal advisers. I would highly recommend Steven for any campaigns in Asia.”
Chambers 2026
EducationL.P.C., Nottingham Law School, England, 2009
LL.B., University of London, SOAS, 2008
L.P.C., Nottingham Law School, England, 2009
LL.B., University of London, SOAS, 2008
Bar AdmissionsSolicitor, England and Wales
Solicitor, Hong Kong
Solicitor, England and Wales
Solicitor, Hong Kong
- Chambers UK, Band 1, Shareholder Activism: Activist Representation, 2026.
- The Deal, Top Legal Advisers to Activists, Who’s Helping Whom H2 2025: Legal Advisers: Activists, February 2026.
- Asian Legal Business (ALB), Rising Stars Hong Kong, 2023.
- The Deal, Rising Star, 2021.
- “Key Issues for Companies and Activist Investors Heading into the 2026 Proxy Season,” The 2026 Director’s Agenda: A Review of Risks and Opportunities for Corporate Directors, February 2026.
- “Amendments to Concert Party Presumptions in the Takeover Code,” Akin Alert, March 2023.
- “What to Expect as the HKEx Rolls Out Its New SPAC Listing Regime,” Akin Alert, January 2022.
- “China Fintech – the Beginning of a New Regulatory Era?” Akin Alert, December 2020.
- “Capitalizing on Merger Arbitrage Investment Opportunities in Asia Pacific Markets,” Akin Alert, November 2020.
- “The Rise of Equity Capital Markets in Greater China,” Akin Publication, September 2020.
- “Key Legal and Structural Considerations for Asian Equity Investment,” Hedge Fund Law Report, September 2020.
- “Targeting Asian Investment Opportunities,” Akin Publication, July 2020.
- “Covid-19’s Impact on Global Corporate Transactions,” IFLR, March 2020.
