International law firm Simmons & Simmons is advising Sino-Italian private equity group, Mandarin Capital Partners (Mandarin) in Milan and Beijing, on its joint venture with Chinese rating agency Dagong.
This joint venture between Dagong (60%) and Mandarin (40%) has a total investment valued at approximately €10 million. Following the approval of the European Securities and Markets Authority, Dagong Europe will be operating in Milan, on the main European markets, joining US rating agencies Moody’s, S&P and Fitch.
Simmons & Simmons advised on the documentation, negotiation and finalisation of the agreements between the parties involved the joint venture. The firm also advised on investment agreement, shareholders’ agreement-voting pacts, shareholder loans and other agreements concerning the corporate governance of Dagong Europe. All documents were written both in English and Chinese.
The Simmons & Simmons Sino-Italian team was led by Corporate partner Marco Franzini. The team included Milan associates Moira Gamba and Giorgia Lugli, partner Davis Wang and associates Melody Yang and Geoffrey Mullen in Beijing.
Marco Franzini, Corporate partner in Simmons & Simmons’ Milan office, commented: “One of the most interesting aspects of this deal was the need to combine ‘industrial’ and ‘financial’ visions of two international players like Mandarin and Dagong into a unique start-up. It was significant not only because of the large amount of money invested, but because of the entry of new actors into a developed market such as the European credit rating’s market.”
Davis Wang, Corporate partner in Simmons & Simmons’ Beijing office, said: “This deal demonstrates our Sino-Italian work in collaboration with the Milan team. Together we assist Chinese businesses looking to invest and expand into Europe and we are seeing a growing trend in this kind of cross-border outbound M&A deal.”
The parties reached an agreement after six months of negotiations. The Simmons & Simmons team based in Milan and Beijing focused on the intense agreement final phases in March and April 2012.
