Davis Polk is advising Tencent Holdings Ltd on its strategic partnership with 58.com Inc, which has turned to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP for legal service.
Tencent will buy 36.8 million Class A and B ordinary shares of 58.com for $20 per share, which will price the online classifieds company 58.com Inc’s 20 percent stake at $736 million. Tencent and 58.com will also cooperate in the online classifieds market in China.
The Davis Polk corporate team led by Hong Kong partners Miranda So and Kirtee Kapoor will serve as legal counsel for Tencent.
Founded in 1998, Tencent is one of China’s largest Internet firms known for mobile messaging app WeChat, and has already spent more than $1.2 billion in areas such as e-commerce, real estate and digital mapping since the beginning of 2014. Its many investments include a March tie-up with JD.com Inc.
The deal will help 58.com Inc, dubbed the Craigslist of China, to draw more traffic by clubbing its services with Tencent's online sites such as QQ, WeChat, QQ.com, and QQ browser, the companies said on Friday.
