International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Dalian Wanda Group on the £320m acquisition of Sunseeker International (Holdings) Limited, Britain’s largest luxury yachtmaker, from FL Partners, a Dublin-based PE firm, and on the acquisition of a significant development site on the South Bank of London from Green Property with the intention to build one of the tallest luxury residential/hotel complexes in Western Europe.
These transactions represent Dalian Wanda Group’s first major investments into the UK and are amongst the largest investments in the UK by Chinese private enterprises. Dalian Wanda Group is one of China’s largest property/entertainment conglomerate companies, with US$23bn in reported revenue for 2012.
The Freshfields team for the acquisition of Sunseeker was led by corporate partners Alan Wang in Beijing, Simon Weller in Hong Kong and Paddy Ko and Adrian Maguire in London. Tax advice was provided in London by partner Murray Clayson and intellectual property advice was provided in Hong Kong by partner Mark Parsons.
The Freshfields team for the acquisition of the development site on the South Bank was led by real estate partner Emma Kendall in London and corporate partner Alan Wang in Beijing. Tax advice was provided in London by partner Murray Clayson.
Commenting on the transactions, Alan Wang, corporate partner in Beijing said: ‘These deals highlight the increasing vigor and strength of the leading Chinese private enterprises on the global stage, and the support that they are able to receive from the Chinese regulators and banks in that process.’
Simon Weller, corporate partner in Hong Kong, said: ‘Both of these high profile transactions are great examples of the capabilities of – and opportunities available to – successful Chinese businesses looking to internationalise, and also highlight the attractiveness of the UK for investment.’
Emma Kendall, real estate partner in London, added: ‘We are delighted to have worked with Dalian Wanda on their first UK acquisitions – One Nine Elms will be a prestigious mixed use development, and forms a central part of the Nine Elms regeneration plan. As our past experience with other new entrants to the UK has shown, our ability to provide a team which spanned both our China and UK practices was crucial to us being able to best serve Dalian Wanda on these deals.
Teresa Ko, Chairman of Freshfields in China, further added: ‘We congratulate our client Dalian Wanda Group on reaching another milestone in their international expansion. We are also proud to demonstrate through these transactions Freshfields’ firmwide expertise and commitment to assisting Chinese companies to implement their international ambitions.’
