Clifford Chance
Clifford Chance advises on proposed take private of China Youzan and listing of subsidiary Youzan Technology
8 March 2021
Clifford Chance advises on proposed take private of China Youzan and listing of subsidiary Youzan Technology
Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised on the proposed take private of China Youzan Limited by BetaCafe Holdings Limited by way of a scheme of arrangement for cash consideration and its proposed delisting from the GEM of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Concurrently, shareholders of China Youzan will also receive approximately 52% of the shares of Youzan Technology Inc., a major subsidiary of China Youzan, held by China Youzan by way of a distribution in specie, while Youzan Technology has applied for the listing of all of its shares on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The take private proposal is subject to certain pre-conditions, while completion of the transaction is subject to, among others, regulatory and shareholder approvals. The market capitalization of China Youzan was approximately US$7 billion at the market closing on 26 February 2021.
The team was led by partners Fang Liu and Virginia Lee. They were supported by counsel Yufei Liao, senior associates Sheng Chen, Janet Tang and Winnie Poon, and associates Anson Wong, Jason Liu and Zhengyuan Fan.
Fang said, "Being the lead counsel on the transaction, we were delighted to devise this highly innovative transaction structure and assist our clients as the key principals in the transaction to resolve extremely complex legal and business issues."
Virginia added, "This transaction showcased the breadth and depth of our team's capabilities in a number of areas including the take private, listing and Hong Kong securities law and regulatory compliance."
Youzan Technology is China’s largest cloud-based commerce service provider, providing merchants with subscription solutions and merchant solutions centred on its SaaS (Software as a Service) products, helping merchants establish online presence and digitize business operations, acquire and manage customer traffic, enhance customer acquisition, repeat purchase and operational efficiency, and achieve success in the decentralized e-commerce market.
Clifford Chance recently advised on Haier Smart Home's privatisation.
高伟绅协助拟议的中国有赞私有化及其SaaS子公司有赞科技介绍上市
领先国际律师事务所高伟绅就BetaCafe Holdings Limited拟以协议安排方式私有化中国有赞有限公司（HK: 8083）及其从香港联交所创业板退市相关系列交易提供法律服务。私有化对价为现金。与之同时，中国有赞股东还将以实物分派形式获派中国有赞所持有的主要子公司有赞科技有限公司全部约52%的股份，而有赞科技拟以介绍方式在香港联交所主板整体上市。私有化计划附有若干先决条件，且整体交易完成亦尚待若干条件达成或豁免，包括相关股东审批及监管流程。基于交易公告日（2月26日）收市价，中国有赞市值约为70亿美金。
本项目由合伙人方刘和李婉雯牵头负责。
方律师和李律师表示：“我们非常荣幸能够作为牵头律师，主导设计了该高度创新的交易结构，协助作为交易核心当事方的客户解决涵盖上市公司私有化、介绍上市申请及香港证券法监管合规等极其复杂的专业技术难题和商业问题，突显了高伟绅在相关业务领域的强大综合实力。”
高伟绅团队还包括廖宇飞、陈盛、邓敏蔚、潘咏怡、黄炜杰、廖进仁、樊征远及其他成员。
有赞科技是中国最大的云端商业服务提供商，向商家提供围绕SaaS（Software as a Service, 软件即服务）产品的订阅解决方案和商家解决方案，帮助商家建立线上业务，对业务运营进行数字化管理，获取并管理客户流量，促进获客、复购以及经营效率，在去中心化电子商务市场中取得商业成功。
高伟绅早前也参与了海尔智家私有化海尔电器及其在香港联交所介绍上市的交易。
