O’Melveny & Myers is acting for Chinese online game developer Changyou in a proposed $162.5 million acquisition of the business of 17173.com, a leading game information portal, from Chinese Internet giant Sohu.

Goulston & Storrs and Chinese firm Broad & Bright are acting on behalf of Sohu, while Haiwen & Partners is representing Changyou as PRC counsel. The transaction is expected to close this month.

The O’Melveny team is headed by partners David Roberts and Paul Scrivano in Beijing and San Francisco respectively. Huang Lixin is leading the Haiwen team, while the Broad & Bright team is being helmed by Zhang Libin.

Sohu, a leading Chinese media, search, gaming, community and mobile services group, is the major shareholder in Changyou.

“The combination of Changyou and 17173 is expected to bring about synergies that will increase the shareholder value of both businesses over the long term,” said Charles Zhang, Sohu's chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. ALB

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