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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have scored advisory roles on the merger between two of China’s leading taxi-hailing apps, Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, which is expected to create one of the world’s largest smartphone-based transport services, valued at roughly $6 billion.

The two companies, which have not announced a name for the combined entity, will operate independently under separate brands, Reuters reported. Didi chief executive Wei Cheng and Kuaidi chief Dexter Chuanwei Lu will become co-chief executives and formally introduce the new business after the Lunar New Year, which begins on Feb. 19, the companies said.

A Simpson Thacher team led by Hong Kong M&A partner Katie Sudol is advising Kuaidi. Palo Alto partners Katharine Moir and Tristan Brown are assisting on tax and executive compensation and employee benefits matters, respectively.

Skadden is representing Didi, with a team comprising Hong Kong corporate partners Julie Gao and Will Cai, Los Angeles and Hong Kong corporate partner Michael Gisser, and Palo Alto tax partner Sean Shimamoto.

Han Kun Law Offices and Fangda Partners are the Chinese counsel for Kuaidi and Didi, respectively.

Didi and Kuaidi, backed by Chinese Internet giants Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding, respectively, have been vying for the world’s largest transport market – more than 150 million Chinese hailing taxis using their smartphones, according to analysts.

The companies have received more than $1 billion from private investors in recent months to sustain their battle for market share. Didi raised $700 million from Tencent Holdings and Russian private equity fund DST in December, while Kuaidi raised $600 million from backers including Softbank and Tiger Global.

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