Latham & Watkins Advises Geely Auto in Zeekr Take-Private Transaction

Latham & Watkins has advised Geely Auto, a leading automobile manufacturer based in Hangzhou, China, in the take-private of its subsidiary Zeekr Intelligent Technology. This transaction marks the first Hong Kong-listed company privatizing a US-listed company through a cash/stock election transaction.

Under the terms of this agreement Geely Auto will acquire all outstanding shares of Zeekr not already held by Geely Auto, with Zeekr shareholders offered the option to receive either cash or Geely Auto shares as consideration. The Geely Shares to be issued by Geely in connection with the merger will be issued without registration under the US Securities Act pursuant to the exemption provided by Rule 802 promulgated under the US Securities Act. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

This deal marks another complex taking private and cross-border transaction that Latham advises its significant China clients on, an area that Latham has extensive experience in.

The Latham team was led by Hong Kong corporate partners Frank Sun and Benjamin Su, with Beijing counsel Jason Zhao, and associates Heidi Lui and Nicole Fu. Advice was also provided on US Securities law matters by Washington, D.C. partners Paul Dudek, Michele Anderson, and Brian Miller; and on Hong Kong capital markets matters by Hong Kong partners Mandy Wong and Terris Tang.