Simmons & Simmons has advised China-Africa Investment and Development Co Ltd (CAIDC) on its acquisition of a controlling stake in a gold mine project in Africa.
The CAIDC will possess 51 percent of the gold mine project company after the deal closes, while the remaining stakes will be held by an Africa-focused international mining group.
CAIDC is a joint venture between two Chinese companies, Poly Technologies Inc and China-Africa Development Fund, focused on mining investment in Africa.
Simmons & Simmons appointed Beijing partner Eric Lin as the team lead to oversee the complex transaction, since a new law from the host government has served to increase regulatory risks.
"This was a particularly challenging transaction to work on because of regulatory risks associated with the local laws," said Lin, who was assisted on the transaction by associates Chloe Xu, Geoffrey Mullen and Liz Hsu.
After the signing of the initial transaction documents and in view of the issues created by local laws, Lin and his team helped CAIDC to restructure the transaction by adopting a favourable investment structure.
“We are delighted to have assisted CAIDC to close this important project in Africa,” he said.
Walkers has acted as British Virgin Islands counsel to CAIDC.
Liu Zhen is senior China journalist at ALB. Follow us on Twitter: @ALB_Magazine.
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