Latham Advises on 4 China Business Law Journal Deals of the Year

China Business Law Journal has recognized Latham & Watkins for advising on four honored matters in the publication’s 2020 Deals of the Year report. The firm’s work included landmark M&A and capital markets transactions, as well as a high-profile shareholder activism suit.

Latham advised on the following award-winning matters:

• Sinovac activist litigation: Latham represented the Board of Directors of Sinovac, a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, in its defense against dissident shareholders attempting to gain board control. Latham’s defense and litigation strategy led to a United States Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) order in which activist investor Jiaqiang “Chiang” Li and his firm 1Globe Capital were charged for failing to disclose the full amount of Sinovac shares they beneficially owned, as well as their participation in the activist plan. Prior to the SEC order, Latham secured a trial victory at the Antigua HighCourt that protected the board from the actions of dissident shareholders.
• XPeng’s US initial public offering: Latham represented the underwriters in connection with the US initial public offering of XPeng, a leading Chinese smart electric vehicle (EV) company. XPeng’s headline-making listing on the New York Stock Exchange raised US$1.7 billion in proceeds — marking the largest US IPO in the EV industry, and the third-largest US IPO by a Chinese issuer in 2020.
•  Huya and DouYu’s merger: Latham advised Tencent, a Chinese multinational technology conglomerate holding company, in a landmark public company transaction involving three market-leading businesses in China’s online games live streaming industry, namely Huya, DouYu, and Penguin eSports. Huya and DouYu are both US-listed companies, and Penguin eSports is privately held by Tencent. The deal was valued at more than US$10 billion.
•  Amgen’s investment in BeiGene: Latham advised Amgen, a California-headquartered multinational pharmaceutical company, on its acquisition of a 20.5% stake in BeiGene, a China-based commercial stage biopharmaceutical company. The US$2.08 billion investment involved significant legal complexities, including BeiGene’s dual-listing on the NASDAQ and Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Latham team also conducted extensive due diligence in light of a highly publicized attack against BeiGene by a US-based short seller, with the company facing allegations of falsely inflating its sales figures.