International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Zurich Insurance Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group, on the sale of 97.5 million H shares in New China Life Insurance Company Ltd. (NCI), representing 3.1% of the total issued share capital of NCI.
The shares, priced at HK$ 22.50 (approximately US$ 2.90) per share, were sold by way of a private placement to a small group of institutional investors conducted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The sale completed on July 16, 2013 and the gross sale proceeds were HKD 2,194 million (approximately US$283 million).
Following completion of the transaction, the Company will continue to hold 292.5 million H shares in NCI, representing approximately 9.4 % of the total issued share capital of NCI.
The Freshfields team was led by Shanghai-based corporate partner Melissa Thomas and Hong Kong-based counsel David Cotton.
