Asia Deal Digest: November 2019
• Simpson Thacher and Cleary help SoftBank and Naver create a $30 billion tech giant. • Simpson Thacher and Freshfields on Alibaba's $11 billion Hong Kong listing. • Haiwen and King & Wood Mallesons on Postal Savings Bank of China's $5 billion Shanghai listing.
November 29, 2019 at 05:35 AM
7 minute read
Asia Deal Digest, published periodically, is a compilation of some of the largest deals carried out in Asia and Australia.
Korea
• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett partners Takahiro Saito in Tokyo, Kathryn King Sudol in New York and Ian Ho in Hong Kong are advising SoftBank Corp., the domestic telecommunications business of Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp., on a 50:50 venture with Korean internet portal operator Naver Corp. for Z Holdings Corp., which owns SoftBank's Yahoo Japan and Naver's Line Corp., creating a business worth about $30 billion. Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu is also advising SoftBank. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton partners Paul Shim in New York and Jinduk Han and Sang Jin Han in Seoul are advising Naver. Nishimura & Asahi and Kim & Chang are also advising Naver. Shearman & Sterling Tokyo partners Masahisa Ikeda and Toshiro Mochizuki are advising Line Corp. Anderson Mori & Tomotsune is also advising Line Corp. Latham & Watkins Tokyo partner Ivan Smallwood is advising Z Holdings. Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is also advising Z Holdings. [Read Full Story]
• Paul Hastings partners Daniel Kim in Seoul and Jane Song in San Diego are advising Korean petrochemical and construction company Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd. on a $530 million acquisition of the CariflexTM synthetic rubber business from U.S. chemical giant Kraton Corp. They are supported by partners Steven Sandretto in São Paulo on corporate matters and Tom Mounteer in Washington, D.C. on environment issues. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2020. Baker McKenzie is representing Kraton.
China/Hong Kong
• Simpson Thacher Hong Kong partners Christopher Wong and Daniel Fertig advised New York-listed Chinese technology giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on a secondary listing in Hong Kong, which raised at least $11.3 billion – the largest listing globally so far this year. Fangda Partners partners Jeffrey Ding in Beijing and Leo Lou and Doris Tang in Shanghai served as Chinese counsel to Alibaba. The company will use the majority of the proceeds to expand its range of digital products and services; invest in cloud computing technologies, supply chain management and sales and marketing systems; and develop new technologies. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partners Teresa Ko and Calvin Lai in Hong Kong and Jason Xu in Beijing advised CICC and Credit Suisse as the joint sponsors. King & Wood Mallesons Beijing partners Yang Xiaolei and Jiang Zhihui advised the banks on Chinese law. [Read Full Story]
• Haiwen & Partners Beijing partners Wang Lei and Du Ning are advising Hong Kong-listed state-run bank Postal Savings Bank of China Co. Ltd. on a secondary listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which could raise up to $4.7 billion. The deal, which is subject to approval from Chinese financial regulators, would be the largest listing in China since 2015. King & Wood Mallesons Beijing partners Zhou Ning and Liu Sijia are advising CICC, Postal Securities, CITIC and UBS as co-sponsors. [Read Full Story]
• Weil, Gotshal & Manges partners Charles Ching in Shanghai, Chris Welty in Hong Kong, Ted Posner in Washington, D.C. and Jeffrey Osterman and Paul Wessel in New York are advising Chinese silicon wafer supplier Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor Co. Ltd. on a $298 million investment for a 29% stake in Maxeon Solar Technologies, a Singapore-based solar panel company that will be spun off from Nasdaq-listed solar company SunPower Corp. SunPower's board and a special committee of independent directors unanimously approved the spin-off. The spin-off and Maxeon investment are expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2020. Simpson Thacher New York partners Eric Swedenburg, Sebastian Tiller, Andrew Purcell and Jeannine McSweeney are advising the special committee of SunPower. Latham partners Ryan Maierson in Houston, Jacques-Philippe Gunther and Olivier du Mottay in Paris, David Blumental in Hong Kong and Farhana Sharmeen in Singapore are advising French energy giant Total S.A., the majority shareholder of SunPower.
• Kirkland & Ellis Hong Kong partners David Zhang, Li-Chien Wong, Yazhe Liu and Ben James advised Chinese game operator CMGE Technology Group Ltd. on a $191 million initial public offering in Hong Kong. Guantao Law Firm served as Chinese counsel to CMGE. The issuer plans to use the majority of the proceeds to expand its game publishing and development business, and fund mergers and acquisitions in the mobile game space. Freshfields Hong Kong partners Calvin Lai, Jason Xu and Tim Mak advised CICC and BNP Paribas as the joint sponsors. Commerce & Finance Law Offices advised the banks on Chinese law.
• Paul Hastings partners Jia Yan and David Wang in Shanghai and Samuel Ng and Jason Kuo in Hong Kong advised Hong Kong-based biopharmaceutical company SinoMab BioScience Ltd. on a $177 million initial public offering in Hong Kong. The issuer was advised by Zhong Lun Law Firm on Chinese law and barrister Matthew Ho of Hong Kong-based Sir Oswald Cheung's Chambers on Hong Kong regulatory matters. SinoMab BioScience plans to use the majority of the proceeds for research and development, commercialisation of drugs and construction of a production base in Suzhou. Herbert Smith Freehills partners Jason Sung in Hong Kong and Siddhartha Sivaramakrishnan in Singapore advised CICC and Orient Capital as the joint sponsors. Commerce & Finance Law Offices advised the banks on Chinese law.
• Baker McKenzie Beijing partner Hang Wang advised Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of prefabricated concrete units and equipment in China, on a $151 million initial public offering in Hong Kong. Jia Yuan Law Offices served as Chinese counsel to Changsha Broad Homes. The issuer plans to use the majority of the proceeds to establish regional production centres in China and expand overseas. Freshfields Hong Kong partners Richard Wang and Calvin Lai advised CICC and China Securities as the joint sponsors. Commerce & Finance Law Offices advised the banks on Chinese law.
• Cooley Hong Kong partner Will Cai advised Chinese online real estate marketplace Fangdd Network Group Ltd. on a $78 million initial public offering on the Nasdaq. Global Law Office served as Chinese counsel to the issuer. Fangdd will use the majority of the proceeds to invest in research and development, technology and sales, marketing and branding. Cleary advised Morgan Stanley, UBS, CICC and AMTD as the underwriters. Tian Yuan Law Firm advised the banks on Chinese law.
• Sullivan & Cromwell partners Ching-Yang Lin in Hong Kong and Gwen Wong in Beijing advised Chinese biopharmaceutical company TOT BIOPHARM International Co. Ltd. on a $75 million initial public offering in Hong Kong. The issuer was advised by King & Wood Mallesons on Chinese law and Lee and Li on Taiwanese law. The issuer plans to use the majority of the proceeds to fund pre-clinical and clinical trials, expand facilities, prepare for registration filings, and potential commercial launches of cancer drugs. Herbert Smith Freehills partners Matthew Emsley in Hong Kong and Siddhartha Sivaramakrishnan in Singapore advised ICBC as the sole sponsor. Tian Yuan advised the bank on Chinese law.
• Cleary advised Chinese apartment rental platform Q&K International Group Ltd. on a $53 million initial public offering on the Nasdaq. JunHe served as Chinese counsel to the issuer. Q&K plans to use the majority of the proceeds to expand its apartment network and invest in technology systems and infrastructure. Simpson Thacher Hong Kong partner Chris Lin advised Morgan Stanley and CICC as the underwriters. Zhong Lun Shanghai partners Anthony Zhao and William Jia advised the banks on Chinese law.
Australia
• Gilbert + Tobin Perth partners Justin Little and Justin Mannolini advised Australia's Mineral Resources Ltd. on a $1.3 billion sale of a 60% interest in its Wodgina Lithium Project to U.S. battery metals company Albemarle Corp. JunHe advised Mineral Resources on Chinese antitrust law. MinterEllison partners Simon Scott in Brisbane and Adrian Varrasso in Melbourne advised Albemarle. Shearman advised Albemarle on U.S. law and foreign competition approvals. [Read Full Story]
Related stories:
US Duo Pick Up Roles on Multibillion-Dollar SoftBank Deal
Simpson Thacher, Freshfields Advise on Alibaba's $13B Hong Kong Listing
Haiwen, King & Wood Mallesons Advise on Postal Savings Bank of China's $4.7B Shanghai IPO
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