| Geely acquisition of 100% stake of Volvo Cars |
Value: US$1.8bn |
|
|---|---|---|
| Geely has inked the deal with Ford to acquire Volvo Cars for US$1.8bn. Pending regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. | ||
| Firm | Client | Role |
|
Freshfields |
Geely | International counsel |
|
Haiwen & Partners |
Geely | PRC counsel |
|
Cederquist |
Geely | Swedish counsel |
| Hogan & Hartson | Ford | International counsel |
Although still building up its international experience, Geely, the country's largest private carmaker based in Zhejiang, has successfully executed the purchase of Sweden's Volvo with strong support from a team of top-rated advisors, including Freshfields and Haiwen.
The transaction encompasses agreements on IP rights and supply and R&D arrangements between Volvo, Geely and Ford. Freshfields compiled a team of lawyers across Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Moscow and New York to advise on a range of complex issues relating to corporate, IP, antitrust, IT, tax, finance and employment law. The team was led by China managing partner Teresa Ko in Hong Kong, partner Jack Wang in Beijing, partners Christopher Bown and Avril Martindale in London who advised on the critical IP agreements, and partner Tim Wilkins in New York.
Teresa Ko commented that this is a landmark deal, the largest international automotive acquisition by a privately owned Chinese company, and a significant milestone in China's "Go Global" strategy.
Haiwen acted as Geely's PRC legal advisor, with partner Lan Jie leading the team. Lan previously worked at fellow legal advisor on this deal, Freshfields, from 2003 to 2009 before joining Haiwen as a partner. Swedish legal advice was provided by Swedish law firm Cederquist, its team led by partner Peter Wirell. For Zhejiang local legal matters and many domestic contentious issues, Geely mostly works with long-term external counsel Lou Tao, the managing partner of Zhejiang Xing Tao law firm, for advice.
Interestingly, Geely didn't turn to Sidley Austin for advice in this transaction. The firm acted for Hong Kong-listed Geely Automobile when it raised US$243m through issuing bonds and warrents to GS Capital Partners VI Fund last September. The firm also previously advised the company on its acquisition of majority stakes in five jointly held automakers controlled by its parent, Geely Group. Freshfields' far-reaching network and resources in Europe may be part of the reason for it to win the mandate for this outbound transaction. ALB
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