Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Shearman & Sterling have acted on IMAX China’s $248 million IPO in Hong Kong, marking the first listing by a major global brand in the city since 2011.

IMAX China, a subsidiary of giant screen movie theatre equipment maker IMAX Corporation, said it would use most of the proceeds from the IPO to expand the IMAX network of theatres in China and add to its inventory of IMAX theatre systems.

A Freshfields team led by Hong Kong partners Teresa Ko, Ken Martin and Richard Bird, as well as New York partner Peter Lyons, represented IMAX China on the offering. Commerce & Finance Law Offices and Maples and Calder advised the company on PRC and Cayman Islands law, respectively.

Morgan Stanley was the sole global coordinator and sole sponsor, and one of the joint bookrunners along with Goldman Sachs and China International Capital Corporation.

Shearman & Sterling’s Hong Kong partners Colin Law and Kyungwon Lee represented the banks on the offering, while Haiwen & Partners provided PRC advice. 

IMAX China’s listing is the first by a major global brand in Hong Kong since 2011, when companies such as Prada Spa, Samsonite International SA and MGM China Holdings went public in the city.