Mergers + Acquisitions

Morrison & Foerster's China M&A practice combines senior PRC regulatory expertise with international deal execution capability. Our attorneys in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong have significant PRC-related cross-border M&A experience. The firm is recognized by a number of independent ranking organizations such as Chambers Asia, IFLR1000, Asia Pacific Legal 500, and Asialaw as a leading law firm for mergers and acquisitions in China and Hong Kong. As noted in the 2010 edition of IFLR 1000, Morrison Foerster "is definitely one of the top firms in this area."

Notable Matters

• SoftBank/US$4 Billion Restructuring of Alipay.com. We represented SoftBank in the Alibaba Group's $4 billion restructuring of its holdings in Alipay, China's largest online payment system, to address regulatory requirements relating to foreign ownership of online payment systems in China.
   
• Kirin Holdings Company/Beverage Joint Venture with China Resources. Advised Kirin Holdings Company, Limited (Kirin), a leading Japanese company in the global food and beverage market, in its US$400 million strategic joint venture with China Resources Enterprise, a Hong Kong-based consumer goods company operating in the retail, beer, food and beverage markets throughout China. The joint venture will manufacture and distribute non-alcoholic beverages throughout Greater China, including Hong Kong and Macau.
   
• Intel Corp./US$1.4 Billion Acquisition of Infineon's Wireless Solutions Business. Advised Intel in its US$1.4 billion acquisition of the Wireless Solutions business unit of German chip maker Infineon Technologies AG, a spinoff of Siemens AG and Europe's second-largest semiconductor manufacturer. The Infineon deal was a challenging acquisition with numerous cross-border issues. The China team handled all aspects of the transaction in the PRC, including matters relating to the transferred assets, employees, premises, intellectual property and transitional matters. This transaction is part of Intel's stated strategy to grow its revenues and its business in mobile computing, smartphones, tablets, and embedded computing in the software industry.
   
• Harbin Pharmaceutical Acquisition of Pfizer Vaccine Business. Advised one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in China, Harbin Pharmaceutical, in its asset acquisition of Pfizer's swine vaccine business in China. This is the first MOFCOM-ordered divestment of its kind. Financial Times refers to this transaction as a "watershed Chinese deal…the first of many such transfers of western IP to Chinese groups arising from local competition rulings."
   
• Rakuten JV with Baidu, Inc. Advising Rakuten with respect to its JV with Baidu, Inc., the leading Chinese language Internet service provider, to build a B2B2C online shopping mall for Chinese Internet users.
   
• CR Power/US$669 Million Acquisition of Banpu's Coal Assets in China. Advised Hong Kong-listed China Resources Power Holdings Company Limited in its US$669 million acquisition of a 56% stake in Daning coal mine in Shanxi Province, northern China from Banpu Public Company Limited, a major Thailand-based natural resources company. The acquisition is part of CR Power's efforts to secure and expand it coal supply base for its power generation business.