Clifford Chance advises on Zhihu's landmark Hong Kong IPO and Dual Primary Listing
22 April 2022
Clifford Chance advises on Zhihu's landmark Hong Kong IPO and Dual Primary Listing
Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised the joint sponsors Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, CICC and CMB International, and the underwriters on the US$106 million initial public offering and dual primary listing of Chinese question-and-answer platform Zhihu Inc. on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Zhihu is the first Chinese internet firm to seek a dual primary listing in Hong Kong and the United States with a weighted voting rights structure on the bourse.
China Co-Managing Partner Tim Wang and partners Amy Lo, Fang Liu and Yufei Liao co-led the deal, with support from counsel Claire Cao, senior associate Erxin Lu, associates Ada Zheng, Yuer Shao, trainees Jingyi Zhang, Ruonan Tang in Beijing and trainee Ashley Sun in Shanghai.
Tim said, "New economy sector companies, particularly technology innovators, continue to spur Hong Kong's capital markets. We are proud to bring together our tech expertise and market-leading Greater China equity capital markets experience for Zhihu's landmark dual primary listing."
Clifford Chance's Greater China IPO practice regularly advises on many of Hong Kong's most significant tech IPOs, including Bilibili's US$2.6 billion IPO and secondary listing, Kuaishou Technology's US$5.4 billion IPO, and JD.com's US$3.87 billion IPO and secondary listing.
New York Stock Exchange-listed Zhihu Inc. operates a series of online content communities in China, including the largest Chinese Q&A website, and provides service offerings such as advertising, professional training courses and e-commerce activities.
高伟绅为知乎在香港双重主上市提供法律服务
国际领先律师事务所高伟绅就中文互联网问答社区知乎在香港联交所主板的1.06亿美元双重主上市,为联席保荐人瑞信、摩根大通、中金公司和招银国际以及承销商提供法律服务。知乎是首家以同股不同权结构在香港和美国双重主上市的中国互联网企业。
本交易由高伟绅中国区联席管理合伙人王彦峰以及合伙人罗秀娴、方刘和廖宇飞共同领导,由曹阳、陆尔馨、郑喻丹、邵钰儿、张静怡、唐若楠及孙沛遥提供支持。
王彦峰律师表示:“新经济领域公司,尤其是科技创新企业,持续激发香港资本市场的活力。凭借高伟绅在科技领域的专业知识以及业界领先的大中华区股权资本市场业务能力,我们非常荣幸为知乎此次具有里程碑意义的双重主上市提供法律服务。”
高伟绅大中华区上市业务团队持续为多个大规模的科技公司香港上市项目提供法律服务,其中包括哔哩哔哩26亿美元的香港二次上市、快手科技54亿美元的首次公开发行和京东38.7亿美元的香港二次上市。
在纽约证券交易所上市的知乎是全国最大的在线问答社区,并提供包括在线广告、付费内容、内容商业化解决方案等一系列服务