Asia Deal Digest: July 2019
• Allen & Overy, Freshfields on Asahi's $11 billion acquisition of AB InBev's Australia business. • Slaughter and May, Linklaters on a $3 billion Thai Insurance deal. • Davis Polk, Latham on Tencent-backed DouYu's $775 million Nasdaq listing.
July 30, 2019 at 02:43 PM
9 minute read
Asia Deal Digest, published periodically, is a compilation of some of the largest deals carried out in Asia and Australia.
|Australia
• Allen & Overy corporate partners Aaron Kenavan in Sydney and Matthew Appleton and Richard Hough in London are advising Japanese brewer Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. on an $11.3 billion acquisition of the Australia business of Belgian beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV. They are supported by Sydney partner Peter McDonald on competition and regulatory issues, and London partner Jim Ford on intellectual property and information technology matters. The transaction is expected to close by the first quarter of next year, pending regulatory approvals in Australia. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate partners Bruce Embley and Alison Smith in London are representing AB InBev. They are supported by tax partners Helen Lethaby and Murray Clayson, IP partner Giles Pratt, employment partner Alice Greenwell and finance partner Martin Hutchings, all in London; competition partners Helmut Bergmann in Berlin and Thomas Janssens in Brussels; and corporate partners Vincent Macq in Brussels and Omar Pringle in New York. Gilbert + Tobin Melbourne partners Neil Pathak and Craig Semple are serving as Australian counsel to AB InBev. They are supported by Melbourne partner Simon Lynch on financing matters and Sydney partners Deborah Johns on transactions matters, Elizabeth Avery and Gina Cass-Gottlieb on competition and regulatory issues, Muhunthan Kanagaratnam on tax matters, and Ben Fuller and Steven Mackay on real estate and projects matters. [Read Full Story]
|Southeast Asia
• Slaughter and May Hong Kong partner Chris McGaffin is advising Hong Kong-based insurer FWD Group Financial Services Pte. Ltd. on a $3 billion acquisition of Thai lender Siam Commercial Bank Public Co. Ltd.'s life insurance business SCB Life Assurance Public Co. Ltd. The deal is expected to be completed in the second half of this year, subject to approvals by regulators and Siam Commercial Bank's shareholders. Linklaters Hong Kong partner Matthew Middleditch is representing Siam Commercial Bank. [Read Full Story]
• Allen & Gledhill advised Singapore-based real estate investment trust manager KBS US Prime Property Management Pte. Ltd. on an $813 million initial public offering of Prime US REIT, a U.S.-focused REIT, in Singapore. Greenberg Traurig served as U.S. counsel to KBS, and DLA Piper advised on U.S. law for the offering. KBS plans to use the majority of the proceeds to acquire more properties. Clifford Chance Singapore partner Raymond Tong advised DBS Bank, Merrill Lynch, CICC, Credit Suisse, Maybank Kim Eng and OCBC as the joint bookrunners and underwriters. Shook Lin & Bok represented DBS as the trustee.
|China/Hong Kong
• Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Tian Yuan Law Firm advised Shanghai-based Will Semiconductor Co. Ltd. on a $2.3 billion deal that saw the Chinese chipmaker acquire rivals Beijing OmniVision Technology Co Ltd. and Superpix Micro Technology Co. Ltd. Tian Yuan Beijing partners Zhou Shijun and Hua Xiulan led the team advising Will Semi on Chinese law; Beijing partner Yang Ke advised the company on competition matters in China. The deal was cleared by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States in April. White & Case also advised on U.S. regulatory issues.
• Freshfields Hong Kong partners Grace Huang and Arun Balasubramanian and Amsterdam partner Hanneke Rothbarth are advising Amsterdam-based consumer lender Home Credit B.V. on an initial public offering in Hong Kong, which could raise more than $1 billion, reported Reuters. The issuer is being advised by Haiwen & Partners on Chinese law, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas on Indian law, Baker McKenzie member firm Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners on Indonesian law, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan on Filipino law and Allens on Vietnamese law. Home Credit plans to use the majority of the proceeds to fund expansion in China, India and southeast Asia. Linklaters is representing Citigroup, HSBC and Morgan Stanley as the joint sponsors. JunHe is advising the banks on Chinese law.
• Davis Polk & Wardwell Hong Kong partner Li He advised DouYu International Holdings Ltd., a Wuhan-based video-streaming service company backed by Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., on a $775 million initial public offering on the Nasdaq. Global Law Office Beijing partners Michael Yu, Al Liu, Quentin Ge and Lan Luo served as Chinese counsel to the issuer. DouYu plans to use the majority of the proceeds for investment in content, research and development and marketing. Latham & Watkins Hong Kong partners Allen Wang and Dominik Sklenar advised Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, BofA Securities and CMB as the underwriters. They were supported by Latham financial regulatory partner Dana Fleischman in New York and securities law partners Alexander Cohen and Paul Dudek in Washington, D.C. CM Law Firm and Han Kun Law Offices advised the banks on Chinese law.
• Linklaters Shanghai partner John Xu is advising Suning International Group Co. Ltd. on a proposed deal that will see the Chinese retailer pay $700 million for an 80% stake in French giant Carrefour S.A.'s China business. Other members of Suning's advising team include Linklaters Singapore partner Adrian Fisher, Hong Kong partner Maggie Ng and Beijing partner Fay Zhou, as well as lawyers from the U.K. firm's China associate firm Zhao Sheng including competition counsel Liao Xi. Clifford Chance Hong Kong partner Emma Davies is leading a team representing Carrefour. Other members include Amsterdam partner Gregory Crookes and Hong Kong-based antitrust consultant Richard Blewett. The deal is subject to regulatory approval in China. Suning started as a home appliance retailer and has managed to establish itself a major player in China's e-commerce retailing space. The Nanjing-based company is 20% owned by Alibaba.
• Paul Hastings Hong Kong partners Raymond Li, Zhaoyu Ren and Vincent Wang advised Chinese commercial bank Jinshang Bank Co. Ltd. on a $422 million initial public offering in Hong Kong. King & Wood Mallesons served as Chinese counsel to the issuer. The issuer plans to use the majority of the proceeds to fund growth. Freshfields partners Calvin Lai in Hong Kong and Jason Xu in Beijing advised CCB, CICC and CMB as the joint sponsors. Partners Wang Jianyong, Du Ning, Xu Qifei and Huang Chaoyi at Haiwen & Partners advised the banks on Chinese law.
• Fangda Partners Hong Kong partner Colin Law advised Chinese healthcare company Jinxin Fertility Group Ltd. on a $390 million initial public offering in Hong Kong. Shearman & Sterling served as U.S. counsel to the issuer. Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton advised the issuer on U.S. law related to healthcare regulatory matters. Zhong Lun Law Firm Beijing partner Wang Bing served as Chinese counsel to the issuer. Jinxin plans to use the majority of the proceeds to expand and upgrade assisted reproductive medical facilities in China, recruit medical professionals and expand elsewhere in China through acquisitions. Tian Yuan Law Firm served as Chinese counsel to the Jinxin shareholders. Tian Yuan's Hong Kong associate firm William Ji & Co. advised the shareholders on Hong Kong law. Paul Hastings Hong Kong partners Raymond Li and Zhaoyu Ren and Washington, D.C., partner Charles Patrizia advised Morgan Stanley and CLSA as the joint sponsors. Commerce & Finance Law Offices Beijing partner Wang Bo advised the banks on Chinese law.
• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Hong Kong partner Christopher Wong advised Chinese real estate developer Zhongliang Holdings Group Co. Ltd. on a $377 million initial public offering in Hong Kong. Commerce & Finance Law Offices served as Chinese counsel to the issuer. Zhongliang plans to use the majority of the proceeds to develop property projects and repay loans. Sidley Austin advised CCB and Guotai Junan as the joint global coordinators. Jingtian & Gongcheng advised the banks on Chinese law.
• Sidley is representing Chinese integrated waste management solution provider Beijing Enterprises Urban Resources Group Ltd. on an initial public offering in Hong Kong, which is expected to raise about $200 million, reported IFR Asia. JunHe is serving as Chinese counsel to the issuer. The issuer plans to use the majority of the proceeds to develop waste-treatment projects, purchase garbage trucks and other sanitation vehicles, and repay bank loans. Slaughter and May Hong Kong partners Peter Brien, Clara Choi and John Moore, and Beijing partner Charlton Tse, are advising Haitong and DBS as joint sponsors.
• Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison partners Mark Bergman in London and Xiaoyu Greg Liu in Beijing represented Wanda Sports Group Co. Ltd., a Beijing-based sports-promoting unit of Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group Co., on a $190 million initial public offering on Nasdaq. Jingtian & Gongcheng served as Chinese counsel. The issuer plans to use the majority of the proceeds to repay a loan and fund strategic investments. Shearman Hong Kong partner Matthew Bersani advised the underwriters, which include Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup. Commerce & Finance Law Offices advised the banks on Chinese law.
• Squire Patton Boggs Hong Kong partners Francis Li and Wendy Fong, Palo Alto, California, principal David Saltzman, Frankfurt partners Andreas Lehmann and Reinhart Lange, and Prague partner Radek Janeček advised Hong Kong-based casting and machine component manufacturer Impro Precision Industries Ltd. on a $128 million initial public offering in Hong Kong. JunHe served as Chinese counsel to the issuer. The issuer plans to use the majority of the proceeds to expand production capacity, repay loans and fund potential acquisitions. Simpson Thacher Hong Kong partners Celia Lam, Christopher Wong and Daniel Fertig advised Morgan Stanley and Bank of China as the joint sponsors. Tian Yuan Law Firm advised the banks on Chinese law.
• Deacons represented Hong Kong-based restaurant group Tai Hing Group Holdings Ltd. on a $95 million initial public offering in Hong Kong. The issuer was advised by Jingtian & Gongcheng on Chinese law; Rato, Ling, Lei & Cortés on Macanese law; and Lee and Li on Taiwanese law. Tai Hing plans to use the majority of the proceeds to open new restaurants, expand factories in Hong Kong and China, and renovate existing restaurants. Hogan Lovells Hong Kong partner Sammy Li advised BOCOM as the sole sponsor. Jia Yuan Law Offices advised the bank on Chinese law.
|Related Stories:
Magic Circle Firms Advise on Asahi's $11B Acquisition of AB InBev's Australia Business
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