Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Kirkland & Ellis are part of an eight-firm group advising on Alibaba Group Holding’s $3.7 billion buyout of online video provider Youku Tudou, known as ‘China’s YouTube’.
Under the terms of the deal, Alibaba is to buy the roughly four-fifths that it doesn’t already own in Youku Tudou for $26.60 per American depositary share.
The deal will give Alibaba access to more than half a billion online video users, and marks the e-commerce giant’s efforts to broaden its portfolio into the Chinese digital media market.
Alibaba held 18.3 percent of Youku Tudou when it made its initial offer of $26.60 per ADS in October. The new offer values the rest of Youku Tudou at about $4.7 billion.
Any deal would include the $1.1 billion of cash held by Youku Tudou, Alibaba’s chief financial officer, Maggie Wu, said in October. Based on this, Alibaba will end up paying about $3.7 billion under its revised offer.
A Simpson Thacher team led by Hong Kong partner Katie Sudol is advising Alibaba, while Fangda Partners and Walkers are providing PRC and Cayman Islands advice, respectively.
Youku Tudou has formed a special committee for the buyout. Skadden, TransAsia and Conyers Dill & Pearman are advising the committee on U.S., PRC and Cayman Islands law, respectively.
A Kirkland & Ellis team headed by Hong Kong partner Jesse Sheley is representing J.P. Morgan, the financial advisor to the committee.
O’Melveny & Myers is advising several Youku Tudou shareholders on the deal.
Youku Tudou’s chief executive Victor Koo will keep his position after the deal closes in the first quarter of 2016.