Paul Hastings, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Zhong Lun Law Firm, and Haiwen & Partners have advised on a deal between Universal Studios and Beijing to build a theme park in the Chinese capital.
Universal Parks & Resorts, a Comcast unit, and its partner Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment Company, a Chinese state-owned consortium, will invest and operate the $3.3 billion theme park in Tongzhou District in eastern Beijing.
A Paul Hastings team led by China partners David Wang and Jia Yan and Tokyo of counsel Tim Mackey is advising Beijing Shouhuan, with Scott Yu from Zhong Lun acting as the firm’s advisor on Chinese law.
Davis Polk, led by partners Kirtee Kapoor and Miranda So, is advising Comcast, while Haiwen is acting as Chinese legal counsel, led by partner Pei Wang. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is acting for Universal, led by Hong Kong partner Jeanette Chan, Beijing partner Greg Liu and New York partner Charles Googe.
Investment in theme parks has grown rapidly in the past five years to meet a growing consumer need in China. The opening of the Beijing theme park will follow the launch of Walt Disney’s $5.5 billion theme park in Shanghai’s Pudong District next year, in which it partners with Shanghai Shendi Group, another Chinese state-owned consortium.
The Beijing theme park will be Universal’s third in Asia after Singapore and Osaka, Japan.
