S Sivanesan

S Sivanesan is a Senior Partner in Dentons Rodyk's Corporate practice group, specialising in Mergers and Acquisitions. His primary areas of practice include mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganisations and restructurings, venture capital, venture technology, investment funds and general corporate commercial matters. He has advised numerous fund managers, venture capital funds, founders, start-ups and companies on investment deals across South East Asia, India, China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Europe, Australia and the United States.

Sivanesan is widely regarded as an authority on M&A, corporate governance and venture capital. He has led and advised on numerous landmark transactions, including advising UNOAsia Pte. Ltd. on multiple funding rounds totalling over US$200 million, acting for NIUM Pte. Ltd. on its Series D fundraising round of over US$200 million (making it Southeast Asia's first B2B payments unicorn), advising Think & Learn Private Limited (Byju's) on its US$600 million acquisition of Great Learning, and acting for Tolaram Group on its US$450 million joint venture with Kellogg Company. He has also advised on SPAC transactions, cross-border VC investments and fund formations.

Sivanesan holds an LL.B. (Second Class Honours, Upper Division) from the National University of Singapore (1986) and an MBA in Business Law (Dean's List) from Nanyang Technological University (1998). He is a past Chairman of the Pacific Rim Advisory Council and a past Chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee of the Singapore Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS).

He is consistently ranked as a leading individual by Chambers Asia-Pacific (Startups & Emerging Companies, 2021–2026), The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (Start-Up and Venture Capital, 2023–2026), IFLR1000 (Notable Practitioner for M&A and Private Equity), and Asialaw Profiles. He has been recognised in the Asia Business Law Journal's A-List – Singapore's Top 100 Lawyers (2023–2026) and accorded Legal Icon status for 2025 and 2026. He also received the Cross Border Lawyer of the Year award at the Corporate Legal Era Global Achievers Awards for three consecutive years (2023–2025).