Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has represented China’s Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corporationin an approximately $920 million deal to acquire U.S. airbag maker Key Safety Systems (KSS).
KSS is co-owned by Hong Kong-based private equity firm FountainVest Partners, which turned to Simpson Thacher Bartlett for international law advice and Allbright Law Offices for China law matters.
For legal matters involving Chinese law, Joyson tapped Grandall Law Firm for the deal’s M&A aspects as well as Han Kun Law Offices on the antitrust filing.
Beijing-based partner Fang Xue oversaw the deal for Gibson Dunn, with support from fellow partners Jeffrey Trinklein in London, Michael Collins in Washington, D.C., Maurice Suh, Daniel Weiss and Scott Kruse in Los Angeles, and Peter Modlin in San Francisco. The STB team was headed by partner and China practice head Leiming Chen.
The transaction, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2016, allows other investors including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and New York-based private equity firm Crestview Partners to exit from KSS, which specialises producing in safety-critical components to the automotive and non-automotive markets. The merger will create a world leader in automotive supplier market, generating annual sales valued at around $3 billion and employing 20,000 workers.
KSS will operate as an independent unit headquartered in Michigan, and its CEO Jason Luo will retain his post under Shanghai-listed Joyson, a market leader that develops and provides products for sensors, climate control and industrial automated assembly, among others.
