The High Court in Dodika Ltd v United Luck Group Holdings Ltd [2020] EWHC 2101 (Comm) recently held that a buyer’s provision of a notice in respect of a claim under a tax covenant contained in a share sale and purchase agreement was invalid. 
Continue Reading Watch out Buyers: Despite actual knowledge, notices for claims must include sufficient detail

In preparation for a post COVID-19 world, Chinese outbound investors have begun to source for bargain deals in other countries, with markets characterised by corporate restructurings, low prices, depressed valuations, distressed assets, and fire sales. In this article, we briefly set out some suggestions for Chinese outbound investors when entering into bargain M&A deals in this unprecedented M&A landscape.
Continue Reading Bargain M&A deals in COVID19 – a guide for CHINESE odi investors

Australia’s clean, green and natural food and agribusiness sector punches above its weight, producing enough food to feed approximately 60m people when its current population is just over 25m.
Continue Reading Recent food and agribusiness M&A in Australia – Toiling for nature’s gifts from the golden soil

By Yong Kaichang King & Wood Mallesons’ Corporate&Securities Group

In this Article, we will discuss practical tips in 10 key areas for the better and effective management of outbound M&A transactions by PRC investors. This Article will be published in two parts. In this Part 1, we will first discuss the choosing of lawyers, reviewing legal fees, forming the transaction structure, setting a timetable and managing due diligence. 
Continue Reading 10 tips for effective management of outbound M&A (I)

By Jinsong Zhang, Wei Kao, Zhengyi Pan King & Wood Mallesons‘ Finance & Capital Markets group

On September 13, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order blocking a Chinese-backed private equity firm headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Canyon Bridge Capital Partners Inc. (“Canyon Bridge”), from buying a Hillsboro, Oregon-based chipmaker, Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (“Lattice”), for $1.3 billion, sending a signal that the U.S. will oppose China-related takeover deals that particularly involve in the high-tech sector.
Continue Reading Trump Blocks His First CFIUS Deal – What Can We Learn from it?

By Dr. Sandra Link, LL.M.   King & Wood Mallesons’ Frankfurt office.

link_sDuring the last years, the number of Chinese outbound transactions to Germany have increased considerably and reached a record high in 2016. M&A transactions are quite complex processes, presenting a wide range of potential pitfalls for both buyers and sellers. Often, Chinese investors are not familiar with the particularities of the European market. Against this backdrop, the need to mitigate transactional risk is increasing in particular for Chinese investors.

The use of Warranty & Indemnity (W&I) insurance, has become commonplace in the US and European M&A markets over the last years. Whilst the product is less well-known in the Chinese market, the gap is starting to close and a leading W&I insurer has already established a Chinese desk in Germany to meet the special needs of Chinese clients. With SASAC having emphasized the importance of risk insurance in the context of outbound investments for SOEs in their regulation of 7 January 2017, we expect the importance of W&I insurance for Chinese outbound M&A to further increase.
Continue Reading W&I insurance for Chinese investors in Germany

By King & Wood Mallesons

On March 20th, 2017, Xu Ping, partner at King & Wood Mallesons (KWM), was named one of the Top 10 M&A Lawyers in China for 2017 by Asian Legal Business (ALB) for her exceptional work in cross-border M&A transactions and the high praise and recognition she received from her clients. The list was compiled on the basis of various factors, including the significance of the M&A deals such candidate has advised on (as lead counsel) in the past 12 months, the representative and influential clients for whom such candidate represented, and the accolades and recognitions such candidate has received from the market, etc.
Continue Reading Xu Ping, partner at King & Wood Mallesons, nominated as the Top 10 M&A Lawyers in China for 2017

By Cheng Lim and James Walsh, King & Wood Mallesons

Tlim_cwalsh_jhe number of M&A transactions in 2015 has hit record highs, with volumes expected to increase by 11% from 2014, according to Bloomberg. Indeed, one of the hottest areas for M&A activity has been cybersecurity companies, with deals including AVG Technologies’ acquisition of Privax and Blue Coat systems’ acquisition of Perspecsys.

Cybersecurity is one of the top five business risks identified by major corpo­rates, particularly those in retail, health, and technology. Every day, we read of a new data breach somewhere in the world.
Continue Reading The importance of cyber due diligence in M&A transactions