Zhonglun W&D and a number of foreign law firms are advising state-owned enterprise China National BlueStar Group Co. on its US$2 billion acquisition of Elkem, a subsidiary of Norwegian conglomerate Orkla ASA.
The deal, which was announced in January and approved by EU regulators in April, marks one of the largest Chinese industrial takeovers in Europe and signals the normalization of Sino-Norwegian relations after the Nordic nation awarded Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo the Nobel peace prize last year.
The deal will allow BlueStar, one of China’s premier chemicals makers, to access clean technology that can slash China’s greenhouse gas emissions.
BlueStar turned to Chinese firm Zhonglun W&D for local law advice. The firm’s team was led by Marvin Min Min who performed due diligence, financing and antitrust investigation in China and the European Union in relation to the deal.
Skadden advised BlueStar on Russian antitrust filing with a team led by partners Gregory Mao and Peter Huang. Clifford Chance was retained as Hong Kong and Luxembourg counsel in relation to the acquisition finance. The firm’s deal team was led by Beijing-based partner Maggie Lo and Mark Mehlen who sits in the firm’s Luxembourg office.
On the seller’s side, Orkla retained Norwegian firm Thommessen as its local counsel.ALB
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