Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises Haier Group on the global antitrust filings for its strategic acquisition of Autohome shares

Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised Cartech Holding Company, a subsidiary of Haier Group Corporation, on the global antitrust filings for its acquisiton of Autohome Inc.'s ordinary shares from Yun Chen Capital Cayman, a subsidiary of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd., for approximately US$1.8 billion. Following completion of the transaction, Cartech Holding Company has become the controlling shareholder of Autohome, holding approximately 43.0% of the shares of Autohome (based on the issued and outstanding shares of Autohome as of June 30, 2025).

Lead partner Yong Bai said, "We are pleased to support our longstanding client Haier Group and its subsidiary on this important milestone."

Yong was supported by counsel Dayu Man in Hong Kong, senior associate Michael Yan, and associate Ziwen Wang in Beijing. The transaction also involves local counsel from other jurisdictions.

Founded in 1984, Haier is a global provider of better life and digital transformation solutions.

Autohome provides occupationally-generated, professionally-generated, user-generated content, and AI-generated content, a comprehensive automobile library, and extensive automobile listing information to automobile consumers, covering the entire car purchase and ownership cycle.

The firm's antitrust team regularly advises on major M&A transactions, including Haier on its acquisition of controlling stake in Shanghai STEP and Haier Smart Home for its acquisition of Carrier's Commercial Refrigeration business, which involves the first ever merger filing made by a Chinese company before the European Commission under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation regime.