As many as 14 law firms have scored advisory roles on Chinese online gaming company Giant Interactive Group’s $3 billion privatisation agreement.

The buyer’s consortium comprises Giant Interactive’s company chairman Shi Yuzhu, Baring Private Equity Asia and Hony Capital.

Giant Interactive, whose main competitors are Changyou.com Ltd, Perfect World Co Ltd and NetEase Inc, said the bidding group already owned about 49.3 percent of its shares.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is U.S. counsel to Shi and the buyer’s consortium, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is U.S. counsel to Hony Capital. Weil, Gotshal & Manges is advising Baring on U.S. law and providing U.S. and English legal advice to the buyer group for the debt financing. Fangda Partners is PRC counsel to Baring and Hony Capital.

O’Melveny & Myers and Grandall Legal Firm are advising Giant Interactive on U.S. and PRC law respectively, while Conyers, Dill & Pearman is providing the gaming company with Cayman Islands legal advice.

China Minsheng Bank, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, ICBC International Capital Limited and J.P. Morgan are the mandated lead arrangers and financial advisors to the buyer group, and are being advised by Linklaters on U.S. and English law, Jun He Law Offices on PRC law, and Appleby on Cayman Islands law.

Morgan Stanley Asia and Duff & Phelps are jointly serving as financial advisors to the Special Committee of the company, and are being represented by Shearman & Sterling and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, respectively. 

Fenwick & West is serving as U.S. legal counsel to the special committee of Giant Interactive, and Maples and Calder is providing advice on Cayman Islands law.

The transaction is expected to close during the second half of 2014, and is subject to regulatory approval.

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