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- Home
- Professionals
- Scott A. Anthony
Scott Anthony is a partner in the firm’s Palo Alto office. He advises public and private companies, investment funds and entrepreneurs on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital investments, strategic investments, joint ventures and other transactional matters. His clients include internet, social networking, online gaming, clean technology, software, networking and communications, semiconductor, energy storage and life sciences companies.
Mr. Anthony’s practice focuses on companies with connections between China and the U.S. It includes inbound and outbound cross-border acquisitions and strategic investments between U.S. and China based companies, financing of venture backed companies based in China and the U.S. and joint ventures with China based partners.
Mr. Anthony regularly advises private companies in connection with financing and general corporate activities including Centrillion Technologies, LanzaTech New Zealand, ASSIA, Inc. and A Medium Corporation.
Mr. Anthony's cross border expertise includes significant acquisitions and investments by China based companies of U.S. companies as well as of China based target companies, including acquisitions and investments by Tencent, Focus Media, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), JD.com and Spreadtrum Communications.
Mr. Anthony also advises U.S. listed public companies and foreign private issuers on corporate governance and securities compliance issues.
- Represented Tencent Holdings in its acquisition of a majority stake SuperCell Oy for $8.6 billion.
- Represented Origin Technologies Corporation, LLC in connection with its $1.8 billion bid for Affymetrix, Inc.
- Represented JD.Com in connection with its investment in and joint venture with ZestFinance, Inc.
- Represented Tencent Holdings Limited in connection with its acquisition of Riot Games and its investment in Epic Games as well as in multiple minority strategic investments.
- Represented Samsung Electronics Corporation in connection with its acquisition of PrinterOn.
- Represented Salesforce.com in connection with multiple minority strategic investments.
- Represented Oplink Communications in its $445 million sale to Koch Industries.
- Represented Spreadtrum Communications in connection with its acquisition of Telegent Systems. Inc.
- Represented LanzaTech New Zealand Limited in its joint venture with Baosteel Co., Ltd.
- Represented Opulan Technologies Corp. in connection with its $100 million sale to Atheros.
- Represented China Mobile affiliate in connection with the sale of assets of Joint Innovation Labs to Wholesale Applications Community (WAC) Limited.
- Represented UTStarcom in its $36 million PIPE investment from Beijing E-Town International Investment & Development Co., Ltd.
- Represented UTStarcom in the $240 million sale of its handset distribution business to AIG Vantage Capital.
- Represented Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. in the $70 million acquisition of Quorum Systems, Inc.
- Represented Oplink Communications, Inc. in its $180 million acquisition of Optical Communications Products, Inc.
- Represented Focus Media, Inc. in its $350 million acquisition of CGEN Digital Media, Inc.
- Represented Epin Media Holdings, Ltd. in its combination with Guang Yuan Media Holding Ltd.
- Represented Fiberxon, Inc. in its $131 million sale to MRV Communications, Inc.
Memberships and Affiliations
- Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals, Member
- American Bar Association, Mergers & Acquisitions Committee and the Private Equity and Venture Capital Committee, Member
How to Get Deals Through DC: Views from Washington and Silicon Valley on the Keys to Successful Chinese Investment in Technology Sectors
May 2016, Covington Silicon Valley Breakfast Series, Palo Alto, California
Practical Advice for Navigating Legal Traps and Regulatory Complexity
March 2016, CleanEquity Monaco, Monte Carlo
Accessing the China Market
December 2015, Covington Bay Area Life Sciences Symposium, Redwood City, California
The increasing role of Chinese private companies in going global: Reshaping the overall picture of China’s outbound drive
November 2015, The China Outbound Forum, Sanya, China
February 2021
As the legal, regulatory, and commercial implications of coronavirus COVID-19 continue to evolve, our lawyers and advisors are helping clients navigate the complex considerations that companies around the world are facing and develop plans and strategies in response. Reach out to our COVID-19 task force at COVID19@cov.com. Below is a compendium of resources ...
December 30, 2020, Covington Alert
On December 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”) issued disclosure guidance applicable to transactions involving special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”). CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic No. 11 outlines the Division’s view that certain aspects of SPAC initial public offerings (“IPOs”) and ...
October 3, 2018, Covington Alert
On September 30, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 826 into law making California the first state to require corporations to include women on their boards of directors.
July 30, 2018
SILICON VALLEY—Covington advised GlaxoSmithKline on its multi-year collaboration with and $300 million equity investment in 23andMe. GSK will become 23andMe’s exclusive collaborator for drug target discovery programs. The collaboration will focus on research and development of innovative new medicines and potential cures using human genetics as the basis for ...
June 19, 2018, Inside Energy & Environment
On March 8-9, 2018, a bespoke group of approximately 200 leading entrepreneurs, investors and advisors focused on deploying and commercializing cutting edge technologies gathered in Monte Carlo from across the globe for the 11th annual CleanEquity® Monaco Conference. Complementing other plenary sessions and emerging company presentations, the conference ...
January 15, 2018, Covington Alert
On December 26, 2017, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) released the final Administrative Measures for Enterprise Outbound Investment (the “Final ODI Rules”), which will go into effect as of March 1, 2018 and govern NDRC's regime for reviewing Chinese outbound investment projects. The Final ODI Rules contain limited changes relative to ...
December 26, 2017
SILICON VALLEY—The Financial Times has recognized Covington among the most innovative firms in 2017 in the category of "Enabling Business Growth," for advising "Tencent in its acquisition of a $8.6bn majority stake in Supercell, the Finnish gaming company, while maintaining Supercell’s creative culture and retaining its employees by introducing incentive ...
November 24, 2017, Covington Alert
Earlier this month, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) released the draft Administrative Measures for Enterprise Outbound Investment (“Draft ODI Rules”) for public comment. Comments are due on December 3, 2017.
September 26, 2017, Covington Alert
On September 21, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), as well as the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff”), published new interpretive guidance to assist public companies in complying with the SEC’s pay ratio disclosure rule. The new guidance addresses many questions that have been raised regarding the rule, including how a ...
September 8, 2017, Covington Alert
On August 18, 2017, the General Office of China’s State Council released to the public new guidance regarding the regulation of outbound investment. The guidance is set forth in a notice, dated August 4, 2017, forwarding “guiding opinions” (the “Opinions”) from the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”), Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”), People's ...
Practical Advice For Investing In The U.S. in the Trump Era
December 3, 2016, Sanya
Lessons from successful and attempted acquisitions and investments by Tencent and other Chinese buyers and what risks and opportunities are presented by the U.S. election.
7 Lessons M&A Attys Learned The Hard Way
August 12, 2016, Law360
Scott Anthony is quoted in a Law360 article that offers advice to associates from established M&A partners. According to Anthony, “Presentations need to be crisp. What that really means is that you need to memorize some of these legal standards that we use on a regular basis.” He continues, “The point is really that if you can do that, you still have to be able ...
Covington Represents Tencent in $8.6 Billion Acquisition
June 21, 2016
SILICON VALLEY—Covington advised Tencent Holdings Limited, a leading provider of internet service in China, in connection with its acquisition of a majority stake in Supercell from SoftBank. A consortium established by Tencent will acquire up to 84% of Supercell for $8.6 billion in a transaction valuing Supercell at approximately $10.2 billion. Supercell is a ...
Covington Advises Tencent on Investment in Kik
August 20, 2015
SAN FRANCISCO, August 20, 2015 — Covington advised Tencent Holdings Ltd. on its US$50 million investment in Ontario-based Kik Interactive, Inc., a messenger application with more than 200 million registered users. Tencent is a Chinese company that provides value-added Internet, mobile and telecom services and online advertising. Its messaging app WeChat has ...
Covington Advises Oplink in Its Sale to Koch Industries
11/20/2014
REDWOOD SHORES, CA, November 20, 2014 — Covington & Burling advised Oplink Communications, Inc. in its sale to Koch Optics, Inc., a wholly owned Koch Industries subsidiary. The all-cash transaction is valued at approximately $445 million. Under the terms of the deal, announced Wednesday, Koch Optics will commence a tender offer and subsequent merger for all of ...
Covington Advises Samsung in PrinterOn Acquisition
September 19, 2014
REDWOOD SHORES, CA, September 19, 2014 — Covington & Burling advised Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. in its acquisition of Canadian cloud-printing firm PrinterOn. The acquisition is expected to enhance Samsung’s mobile cloud services to the business-to-business market. Under the terms of the agreement, Samsung purchased all outstanding stock from the current ...
Covington Partners Present at CleanEquity Monaco
April 7, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC, April 7, 2014 — Covington & Burling partners Simon Amies, Scott Anthony and Andrew Jack spoke at the 2014 CleanEquity Monaco conference in the Principality of Monaco on March 27 and 28. The annual conference, sponsored in part by Covington and hosted by London-based Innovator Capital, aims to accelerate cleantech innovation and provide expert ...
April 2, 2014, Inside Energy & Environment
On March 28, 2014, the White House released its “Climate Action Plan – Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions.” The plan summarizes the Administration’s strategy to reduce methane emissions from several sources. The strategy includes proposing new standards, new rules, new voluntary strategies and programs and new regulations. The plan outlines measures to ...
March 21, 2014, Inside Energy & Environment
This month, the EPA announced that it is improving the petition process for obtaining approval of new renewable fuel pathways. When the initial pathways were approved, there was recognition that a process must be in place to evaluate improvements in existing processes and entirely new pathways. The Renewable Fuel Standard regulations specify the existing ...
January 7, 2013
NEW YORK, January 7, 2013 — Covington & Burling advised Illumina, Inc. on its announced acquisition of Verinata Health, Inc. for cash consideration of $350 million plus up to $100 million in milestone payments through 2015. Upon completion of the acquisition, Illumina will have access to the Verinata’s verifi® prenatal test, the broadest non-invasive prenatal ...
Nora Gibson Joins Covington’s Corporate Practice
March 19, 2012
SAN FRANCISCO, March 19, 2012 — Covington & Burling LLP is pleased to announce that Nora Gibson, a well-regarded capital markets lawyer, has joined the firm’s corporate practice as a partner. She will be resident in the firm’s San Francisco office. Ms. Gibson advises companies and underwriters in initial public offerings and other capital market transactions. ...
Covington Adds Five in Silicon Valley and China
February 8, 2012
SAN FRANCISCO, February 8, 2012 — Covington & Burling is adding a highly regarded corporate team to its Beijing and Silicon Valley offices, bolstering Covington’s global transactional capabilities in the technology and life sciences sectors. The firm is pleased to announce that Michelle Edwards, Eva Wang and Scott Anthony have joined the firm as partners; ...
- China Business Law Journal, Deal of the Year (Tencent raises funds and acquires a majority stake in Supercell) (2016)
- Legal 500 US, Mergers & Acquisitions/Corporate & Commercial - Venture Capital & Emerging Companies (2013-2017) and Energy - Renewable/Alternative (2015-2016)
COVID-19: Legal and Business Toolkit
We are helping clients around the world navigate this evolving, complex situation.
Doing Business in China?
Covington helps clients validate or recalibrate their existing strategies for doing business in and with China.