近日，两家中概股公司——在线教育公司掌门教育，和在线营销服务公司爱点击——分别宣布达成私有化协议，分别从纽交所和纳斯达克退市。
掌门教育项目中，年利达担任公司董事会特别委员会的美国法律顾问，达维律师事务所则担任买方的美国律师。
掌门教育创办于2005年，于2014年转型为在线教育平台，并于2021年6月赴美上市。不过一年后，2022年6月，公司就因为市值过低被纽交所启动退市程序。本次私有化交易中，掌门教育创始人、董事会主席兼首席执行官张翼作为买方收购了其尚未实益拥有的该公司所有流通中的美国存托股份和普通股。
年利达常驻香港的公司业务部合伙人林晓希牵头主导了此次项目。
在爱点击项目中，佳利律师事务所单位特别委员会的美国律师，瑞格律师事务所、Prospera Law律师事务所则担任买方财团的美国法律顾问。
爱点击的主营业务是为广告主计划、投放及优化多渠道的广告投放，其于2017年在纳斯达克上市。本次交易中，公司与由内部人士组成的财团合并以进行私有化交易。交易预计将于2024年第一季度完成。
Linklaters, Davis Polk, Cleary, Ropes & Gray on two Chinese concept stock privatization deals
Two Chinese concept stock companies—online education company Zhangmen Education and online marketing services company iClick— have recently announced that they had reached privatization agreements to delist from the NYSE and Nasdaq, respectively.
In the Zhangmen Education project, Linklaters served as the US legal advisor to the company's special committee of the board of directors, while Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as the US attorney for the buyer.
Founded in 2005, Zhangmen Education transformed into an online education platform in 2014 and went public in the US in June 2021. However, a year later, in June 2022, the company was subjected to delisting procedures by the NYSE due to its low market value. In this privatization deal, Zhangmen's founder, board chairman, and CEO Zhang Yi, as the buyer, acquired all the circulating US depositary shares and ordinary shares of the company that he did not already beneficially own.
Lin Xiaoxi, a partner in Linklaters' Hong Kong corporate business department, led this project.
In the iClick project, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton acted as the US attorney for the special committee, while Ropes & Gray and Prospera Law served as the US legal advisors for the buyer consortium.
iClick's main business is planning, delivering, and optimizing multi-channel advertising campaigns for advertisers. It went public on Nasdaq in 2017. In this transaction, the company merged with a consortium composed of company insiders to carry out the privatization deal. The transaction is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2024.
