Fangda Partners and Sullivan & Cromwell have advised Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng on its HKD5.84 billion (USD744 million) acquisition of Didi Global’s smart-car development arm.
Fangda acted as PRC counsel to XPeng and domestic counsel for part of the transaction, with a team led by capital markets partner Jeffrey Ding, M&A partner Norman Zhong and intellectual property partner Claudia Yun.
Hong Kong-based managing partner Ng Kay Ian and partner Lin Ching Yang led Sullivan & Cromwell’s team advising XPeng on international law.
XPeng will settle the acquisition by issuing up to approximately 91.13 million class A shares, representing around 5.26% of the company’s total issued share capital.
As per the HKEX filing, about 58.16 million class A shares will be issued at a price of HKD64.03 apiece on the initial delivery date, with the potential for additional shares to be issued on the achievement of the performance target.
Brian Gu, the vice chairman and president of XPeng, said the company would launch a second or third smart electric vehicle brand with the project code name “Mona” via their collaboration with Didi.
As part of the agreement, Didi would be able to receive the remaining shares if the brand achieves a cumulative annual sales volume of 180,000 units for two consecutive years, Gu added.
