Yash A. Rana

Yash Rana is a partner and Co-Chair of Goodwin’s Private Equity group and serves on the firm’s Executive Committee. He founded and leads the firm’s Asia practice and Hong Kong office. Mr. Rana’s practice sits at the convergence of capital and innovation. He is widely recognized as one of the few preeminent M&A and private equity attorneys in Asia with deep expertise across sectors, including technology, media, telecom, services, consumer, life sciences, healthcare and financial institutions.

Mr. Rana has more than 25 years of experience advising companies, sponsors and management teams in complex cross-border transactions including leveraged buyouts, carve-outs and management buyouts, venture capital and growth equity investments, PIPEs, private placements, fund formation, equity and convertible bond offerings, financings, joint ventures, licensing and collaborations, restructurings and other corporate transactions. He advises private equity sponsors on all aspects of their business operations.

Mr. Rana began his career in New York and relocated to Hong Kong in 2008, and has significant experience in transactions across North America, Europe, EMEA and the Asia-Pacific region, especially in China, India, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Mr. Rana’s experience includes representation of several private equity sponsors, including A91 Partners, B Capital Group, Coatue, DST Global, Goldman Sachs, Hillhouse Investment, PAG, TA Associates, Tybourne Capital Management, Vy Capital, and Warburg Pincus. He has worked with investors in several innovative companies, including Airbnb, Alibaba, Baidu, BeiGene, Belle, BillDesk, ByteDance, Cred, Ctrip, Didi, Dr. Lal’s, Flipkart, Gojek, Grab, JD.com, Meituan, Micromax, Momo, Nintex, Ola, PayTM, Peet’s Coffee, Pinduoduo, Sea, Swiggy, Trumid, Uber, Xiaomi, Xtep, and Zomato.

Mr. Rana has worked on several notable transactions, including the $53 billion merger of GTE and Bell Atlantic to form Verizon, the $48 billion hostile takeover of US West by Qwest Communications, the $7 billion sale of Dex Media to Carlyle and Welsh Carson, and the $13 billion debt exchange offer for Qwest Communications.

Mr. Rana has received numerous awards and recognitions, and under Mr. Rana’s leadership, Goodwin’s Asia practice has won wide recognition in a number of practice areas. Mr. Rana has been frequently recognized in Chambers Global, Chambers Asia Pacific and Chambers Greater China publications, the India Business Law Journal’s International A List, the Business Today’s Top 10 Prominent Indian Corporate/M&A Lawyers, the China Business Law Journal’s A List China’s Elite 50 Lawyers and IFLR1000. Mr. Rana was awarded International Law Firm Leader of the Year by the Asia Legal Awards (ASLA) and was named amongst the Innovative Leaders at the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Asia 2023, in recognition for his accomplishments in building Goodwin’s Asia practice both in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Mr. Rana currently serves on the boards of several private equity backed companies in Hong Kong, India and Mauritius. He served as President of the Board of Governors of the American Club Hong Kong and as a mentor for the Young India Fellowship. He has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Qwest Foundation, the charitable arm of the company. His pro bono clients include the American Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the American Club Foundation, Mother’s Choice and Save the Children.

While attending Columbia Law School, Mr. Rana was an editor of the Columbia Business Law Review.

Mr. Rana has participated as a speaker in a number of major conferences and seminars and has presented to private equity and venture capital executives on various current topics. He has been featured in several publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Deal, American Lawyer, the Asian Venture Capital Journal, Asian Legal Business and the India Business Law Journal.

Articles Mr. Rana has authored or co-authored include:

• “Chinese Cross Border Life Sciences Strategic Transactions in the Age of COVID-19,” May 2020
• “Chinese Investments Into India,” April 2020
• “New Opportunities for Private Equity in India,” July 2016
• “Are VIEs Finished?” January 2015
• “Release of Names With Interests in Offshore Entities: Ramifications,” February 2014
• “Recent Developments in India Aim to Encourage Foreign Investment,” October 2012
• “India’s New Competition Guidelines Present a Minefield for M&A and Private Equity Globally,” June 2011