Wilson Sonsini Helps Secure CFIUS Clearance for Chinese Acquisition
Chinese-controlled investment fund Citiking International received approval to acquire Albuquerque, New Mexico-based private jet manufacturer ONE Aviation.
February 26, 2020 at 01:46 PM
3 minute read
U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has helped a Chinese investment company obtain approval from the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States for an acquisition of a U.S.-based aviation company.
The West Coast firm represented Citiking International US, a Chinese-controlled investment fund, which has received clearance from CFIUS for its acquisition of ONE Aviation, an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based private jet manufacturer, according to a statement released by Wilson Sonsini.
ONE Aviation, known for making Very Light Jets, a type of small business jets, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2018. In September 2019, the company's plan to be acquired by lender Citiking as part of the reorganization was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Paul Hastings represented ONE Aviation on bankruptcy matters.
Wilson Sonsini said this is the third significant CFIUS clearance involving a Chinese buyer that the firm has helped facilitate in the past 12 months. In April 2019, CFIUS approved Shanghai Will Semiconductor Co.'s acquisition of Beijing OmniVision Technologies Co. Ltd., whose main asset is a Santa Clara, Calif.-based advanced digital imaging technology designer and developer. Wilson Sonsini advised Will Semiconductor.
The firm's CFIUS practice is led by Washington, D.C., partner Stephen Heifetz, who joined in 2017 from Steptoe & Johnson and previously handled CFIUS matters for the Department of Homeland Security.
In January, the Treasury Department issued two final implementing regulations of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, a 2018 law that expanded CFIUS' authority, giving the committee more power to scrutinize Chinese investment in real estate and businesses involving critical technology, infrastructure or personal data.
Before that, Chinese deals, especially those in the technology sector, were already under CFIUS' close scrutiny. Last year, the committee ordered Beijing Kunlun Tech Co. Ltd. to sell its stake in LGBT dating app Grindr; it also forced Shenzhen-based health tech company iCarbonX out of its investment in Cambridge, Massachusetts-based patient community portal PatientsLikeMe. The committee is also currently reviewing Chinese company ByteDance's ownership of popular social media app TikTok's U.S. version.
As a result of CFIUS' crackdown, Chinese investment into the U.S. dropped to $4.5 billion in 2019, the lowest in a decade, according to research done by Baker McKenzie and New York-based research firm Rhodium Group.
Related Stories:
CFIUS Annual Report Shows Big Jump in Investigations
Final CFIUS Rules for Real Estate Transactions: 5 Things to Know
Chinese Company Pressured by US Government to Sell Dating App Grindr
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