Seven law firms are advising on Perfect World, a Beijing-based gaming company, going private, including Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Paul Hastings and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
Perfect World announced last Sunday that it agreed to be taken private by its founder and chairman Michael Yufeng Chi, through Perfect Peony Holding Co., a company Chi incorporated in the Cayman Islands. The values the company at around $1 billion.
Led by the Hong Kong based partners Julie Gao and Clive Rough, and Beijing partners Peter Huang and Daniel Dusek, Skadden is serving as U.S. legal advisor to the Special Committee, a group of independent directors established by the company’s board. Maples and Calder is the Cayman Islands legal advisor to the Special Committee.
Paul Hastings is advising Perfect World on U.S. law, led by Beijing corporate partner Dan Ouyang. Orrick is the U.S. legal advisor to Chi, led by Shanghai-based Corporate partner Jeffrey Sun and San Francisco-based M&A and Private Equity partner Richard Vernon Smith. And Conyers Dill & Pearman is advising Chi on Cayman Islands law.
Davis Polk & Wardwell and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld are representing China Renaissance Securities (Hong Kong) Limited and Duff & Phelps respectively, which serve as the financial advisors to the Special Committee of Perfect World.
Chi’s takeover deal will be financed by a $900 million loan facility. The merger is expected to close in the second half of this year.
