Allen & Gledhill has advised Temasek Financial (I) and Temasek Holdings on the issue of US$750 million one percent guaranteed notes due 2030, US$1 billion 2.25 percent guaranteed notes due 2051 and US$1 billion 2.5 percent guaranteed notes due 2070 under the US$25 billion guaranteed global medium term note programme established by Temasek Financial (I). The notes are Temasek’s first three-tranche offering of debt securities. The 50-year tenor of the notes due 2070 is a record by a Singapore corporate. Temasek is the guarantor for the notes. Partners Yeo Wico, Wu Zhaoqi and Sunit Chhabra led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Allen & Gledhill has also advised DBS Group Holdings on the issue of A$300 million (US$211.3m) floating rate subordinated notes due 2031, under its US$30 billion (US$21.13b) global medium term note programme. DBS Bank was appointed sole global coordinator and joint lead manager for the notes. Partner Glenn Foo led the firm’s team in the transaction.
AZB & Partners has advised Mitsui & Co on its acquisition, thru its subsidiary Bharat Certis, of 56 percent shareholding from the existing shareholders of Bharat Insecticides, a developer, manufacturer and distributor of agricultural crop protection inputs in India. M&A/corporate partner Prasenjit Chakravarti, supported by partners Prasenjit Chakravarti, Susmit Pushkar, Shailendra Bhandare, Manas Chaudhuri, Indruj Singh Rai, Bhavik Narsana, Atul Pandey and Ayush Mehrotra, led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on September 17, 2020.
AZB & Partners has also advised Amazon on the Rs2.75 billion (US$37.4m) acquisition by its subsidiaries, CODA Holdings Singapore and CODA Holdings 3, along with other entities, of further equity shares of Witzig Advisory Services. Partners Hardeep Sachdeva and Ravi Bhasin led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on September 17, 2020.
Baker McKenzie Thailand has represented five syndicated lenders on six project financings of seven power plants across the country, as part of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand’s (EGAT) third-generation small power producer (SPP) program and SPP replacement program. The key sponsor of these project companies is B Grimm Power. The lenders, consisting of Bangkok Bank, Export-Import Bank of Thailand, Government Savings Bank, KASIKORNBANK and The Siam Commercial Bank, financed approximately β30 billion (US$960.6m) for two blocks of a gas-fired power plant built under the third-generation SPP program, and five gas-fired power plants built under the replacement program granted by EGAT under the SPP replacement program. Bangkok project finance partner Vit Vattanayothin led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Baker McKenzie has also advised Gaw Capital Partners on the formation and successful closing of its internet data center platform in China, raising approximately US$1.3 billion. The platform focuses on strategic joint ventures with internet data center partners in China, and is backed by a number of prominent institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds. Fund formation specialist partner Edwin Wong led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Davis Polk is advising Reliance Industries, India’s largest private sector company, and its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures on General Atlantic’s investment of Rs36.75 billion (US$500m) into Reliance Retail Ventures. Partners Jeffrey O’Brien and Leo Borchardt are leading the firm’s team in the transaction, which is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.
Davis Polk is also advising Reliance Industries, India’s largest private sector company, and its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures on GIC’s investment of more than Rs55 billion (US$784m) into Reliance Retail Ventures. Partners Jeffrey O’Brien and Leo Borchardt are leading the firm’s team in the transaction, which is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.
Dechert has advised Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) (PAAMC HK), the offshore investment platform for Ping An Insurance (Group) of China, on the launch of its first Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) umbrella fund. The firm had first advised on PAAMC HK’s establishment of its Luxembourg RAIF-SIF, a Luxembourg private investment fund, which allows the fund to be made available to professional investors in Hong Kong. The firm subsequently advised Ping An on the conversion of the Luxembourg RAIF-SIF to a UCITS umbrella fund. Hong Kong partner Michael Wong, supported by Luxembourg partner Marc Seimetz, led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Eversheds Sutherland has advised DBSAC, as financial adviser to the offeror, China Jinmao Holdings Group, on the HK$3.2 billion (US$413m) privatisation of Jinmao Hotel and Jinmao (China) Hotel Investments and Management. A 100 percent-owned subsidiary of DBS Bank, DBSAC is the investment banking arm of DBS Bank in Hong Kong. Jinmao Hotel and Jinmao China operate a portfolio of eight luxury hotels in Beijing, Sanya, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Lijiang and the 88-storey Jin Mao Tower, a landmark in Shanghai. Jinmao China and Jinmao Hotel constitute a business trust. The units in Jinmao Hotel are linked to the ordinary shares and stapled to the preference shares of Jinmao China. These share stapled units were listed in Hong Kong in 2014. Only a small number of business trusts are listed; Jinmao Hotel is the first business trust that has been privatised. The privatisation was undertaken via a scheme of arrangement under Section 86 of the Cayman Islands Companies Law and the trust deed constituting Jinmao Hotel. The scheme became effective on September 28, 2020, and the listing of the share stapled units was withdrawn on October 5, 2020. Partner Stephen Mok led the firm’s team in the transaction. Latham & Watkins advised China Jinmao on Hong Kong law, while Mayer Brown advised Jinmao Hotel and Jinmao China on Hong Kong law.
HHP Law Firm has acted as the lead counsel to Bank Permata on its integration plan with Bangkok Bank branches. This integration plan is unique and complex, as it does not ascribe to an atypical merger framework. It follows the framework which the firm had advised HSBC Bank for its integration with Bank Ekonomi in mid-2017, which was the first of its kind and was modelled by the Financial Services Authority (OJK) in its 2019 regulation for integration. The integration is still subject to certain conditions. Senior partner Erwandi Hendarta and partner Mahardikha Sardjana led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was announced on October 7, 2020.
Khaitan & Co has advised Bitkraft Esports Ventures, as lead investor, on its investment in Advergame Technologies (dba Gamezop), as part of Gamezop’s Series A fund raise. Other investors include Velo Partners, FJ Labs, AECAL Asian E-Commerce Alliance and Suvam Partners. Bitkraft Esports Ventures is an early stage investor focussed on investments in gaming esports and interactive media targets. Partners Ganesh Prasad and Rishabh Bharadwaj led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Khaitan & Co has also acted as Indian counsel to UBS Securities India, as the broker, on all aspects of the approximately Rs18.5 billion (US$252m) sale, via a block deal on the stock exchange, of shares held by Epsilon Bidco in Essel Propack trading platform. The deal was completed on September 22, 2020. Partner Subhayu Sen led the firm’s team in the transaction, while Ashurst acted as special US counsel.
Kudun and Partners has represented Areeya Property, a leading real estate developer listed in Thailand, on the approximately β1.1 billion (US$35.2m) divestiture of Mega 1 and Mega 2 Projects to Real Asset Development. The divestiture was rare and highly complex, involving the “during-construction” residential condominium projects located at a rapidly growing suburb near the Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
Mayer Brown has advised the lead arrangers and dealer-managers on the issuance of US$600 million 5.125 percent bonds due 2026 by the Government of Mongolia, and its concurrent offer to repurchase 10.875 percent senior notes due 2021 and 5.125 percent senior notes due 2022. The deal, representing a rare sovereign issuance in Asia-Pacific following the Covid-19 outbreak, attracted strong demand from global investors. As a first-of-its kind sustainable sovereign transaction in Asia, Mongolia’s issuance extended the maturity profile of the government’s debt and reduced debt servicing costs. These cost savings enable the government to increase spending on sustainable activities, included in a sustainability roadmap and consistent with Mongolia’s sustainability objectives. Hong Kong corporate and securities partner Jason Elder, supported by partners Jared Goldberger (tax transactions and consulting-New York), Thomas Kollar (corporate and securities-Hong Kong), Tamer Soliman (government and global trade-Washington DC) and Yu Jin Tay (litigation and dispute resolution-Singapore), led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Paul Hastings has advised Weihai City Commercial Bank on its US$365 million global offering and listing of its H Shares in Hong Kong. Huatai Financial Holdings (Hong Kong), China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities and CMB International Capital acted as the joint sponsors for the listing. Weihai City Commercial Bank is the only city commercial bank with outlets that cover all prefecture-level cities in Shandong Province in China. Engaged in both corporate banking business and retail banking business, the bank aims at developing a technology-driven “bi-focus retail banking” business model. Global partner and chair of Greater China Raymond Li and corporate partners Vincent Wang and Chaobo Fan led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Simpson Thacher has represented Baozun on its global offering and secondary listing of Class A ordinary shares in Hong Kong. Baozun offered 40 million Class A ordinary shares pursuant to Chapter 19C, a regime introduced in Hong Kong to attract listings by high profile issuers that are already listed in the US and London. Each of Baozun’s American depositary shares represents three Class A ordinary shares. The offering raised gross proceeds of HK$3.316 billion (US$428m), before the exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option. Citigroup Global Markets Asia, CMB International Capital and Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) acted as the joint sponsors, joint global coordinators, joint book-runners and joint lead managers for the global offering. Baozun is the leader and a pioneer in the brand e-commerce service industry in China. Partners Christopher Wong and Yi Gao led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Simpson Thacher has also represented the initial purchasers on the Regulation S offering of US$300 million currency-linked zero coupon convertible bonds due 2025 by Evergreen Marine (Taiwan). The bonds are listed in Singapore. JP Morgan acted as the sole global coordinator and, with Credit Suisse, as the joint book-runners for the offering. Taiwan-listed Evergreen Marine is a leading international container shipping company based in Taiwan. Partner Yi Gao led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Skadden has advised Everest Medicines on its listing and IPO in Hong Kong. The company issued approximately 63.5 million shares, at HK$55 (US$7.10) each, for a total offer value of HK$3.495 billion (US$451m). Everest Medicines is a biopharmaceutical company founded by C-Bridge Capital to focus on licensing, clinical development and commercialization of potentially novel or differentiated therapies to address critical unmet medical needs in Greater China and other emerging Asia Pacific markets. Trading commenced on October 9, 2020. Hong Kong partners Julie Gao, Christopher Betts and Paloma Wang, and Shanghai partner Haiping Li led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Skadden is also advising the Huya Special Committee on the US$10 billion merger of Huya with DouYu International Holdings. The two companies operate China’s most popular game live streaming platforms. As part of the agreement, New York-listed Huya will acquire all the outstanding shares of Nasdaq-listed DouYu, including ordinary shares represented by American depositary shares, through a stock-for-stock merger. As a result of the merger, DouYu will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huya. Partners Julie Gao (Hong Kong), Peter Huang (Beijing) and Haiping Li (Shanghai) are leading the firm’s team in the transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2021.
WongPartnership has acted for Biofourmis on its US$100 million Series C funding round led by Softbank. Partner Kyle Lee led the firm’s team in the transaction.
WongPartnership has also acted for Frasers Property on its proposed disposal of 63.11 percent of the entire issued and paid-up share capital of AsiaRetail Fund, and its proposed acquisition of 100 percent of the entire issued and paid-up share capital of Mallco. Partners Chan Sing Yee and Kyle Lee led the firm’s team in the transaction, together with partners Gail Ong and Karen Yeoh.
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