Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises Affinity Equity Partners on sale of Leader Harvest Power Technologies for US$650 million

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised Affinity Equity Partners and Unitas Capital on the sale of Leader Harvest Power Technologies Holdings Limited through auction to Schneider Electric SA for US$650 million. The transaction closed after successfully obtaining China merger control clearances.

Leader Harvest is one of the leading players in the fast-growing medium voltage variable frequency drives (MV drives) market in China. MV drives can provide up to 50 per cent energy savings for industrial motors and are used in energy-intensive markets such as power generation, mining, minerals and metals, oil and gas, water and water treatment.

Affinity and Unitas acquired a 94.2% stake in Leader Harvest less than two years ago for US$200 million, which was then one of the largest buyouts in China. The Beijing office also advised on the original investment.

"We're pleased to have advised Affinity on both the buyout and successful divestment of Leader Harvest in a matter of less than two years," said Beijing Corporate partner Terence Foo. "Leader Harvest is one of the few successful buyouts in China. There's been a number of successful exits by private equity houses in recent months on their investments in Greater China, where strong economic growth has boosted profitability and valuations, creating opportunities for strong exits."

Terence led the transaction and was assisted by associates He Wei, Jiang Niao and Paul Tang, together with anti-trust support from counsel Ninette Dodoo and associate Bai Yong.