Bob Dodds

Bob Dodds is the founder and managing director of DRP Capital Limited, an investment bank he launched in 2009 to advise clients in China and around the world on cross-border M&A. DRP says it works in the industrial, technology, and medical sectors and operates from Shanghai, Hong Kong, and the Washington, DC area.

Before founding DRP Capital, Dodds was Head of China M&A for HSBC’s Global Investment Banking Division, based in Shanghai. Earlier, he spent seven years at China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC), then a Morgan Stanley joint venture and a leading local investment bank in China, where he was responsible for M&A and participated in IPOs and equity placements.

His transaction background includes advisory work for Philips, Alcatel-Lucent, II-VI, Emerson, Pirelli, Bunge, and Unilever on China M&A, and cross-border M&A work for Chinese companies including Han’s Laser and Wego. Earlier in his career he worked on major China capital-markets transactions including PetroChina’s US$2.7 billion IPO, Chalco’s US$458 million IPO, Baosteel’s US$948 million A-share IPO, and China Mobile’s US$750 million equity placement to Vodafone.

Dodds holds a BA from Columbia University and JD and MSFS degrees from Georgetown University. 58.com’s 2020 announcement of his independent-director appointment states that his Columbia degree was in political science and international relations.

• DRP’s stated focus is to “focus on China-related M&A in the industrial, technology and medical sectors.”
• DRP is primarily a buy-side M&A advisor, supporting target search, valuation, due diligence, negotiation, and transaction troubleshooting.
• For growth financing, DRP says it leverages sector knowledge and a network of buyers and investors in China and other markets to find fitting investors and buyers.
• The strongest fit appears to be companies with a China cross-border angle: foreign firms acquiring in China, Chinese firms acquiring abroad, or sector-focused companies raising growth capital from strategic or financial investors.
• Dodds’ own background suggests he is most relevant where Mandarin fluency, China deal execution, and cross-border negotiation are central to the transaction.