Davis Polk, Appleby and Latham & Watkins act on USD23bn SPAC merger

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SPAC merger involving VinFast
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Davis Polk, Appleby and Latham & Watkins advised on a proposed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger involving Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast at an equity value of USD23 billion.

The merger agreement was reached between the Hong Kong-based blank cheque company Black Spade Acquisition and Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast, aiming to complete an IPO in the US via a business combination in the second half of the year.

While Appleby acted as Cayman Islands law counsel to Black Spade Acquisition, Davis Polk advised the SPAC with a team led by partner James Lin, with assistance from counsel Sam Kelso, and counsel and registered foreign lawyer Jennifer Jiang.

Davis Polk’s tax partner Patrick Sigmon, IP partner Frank Azzopardi, executive compensation partner Adam Kaminsky and regulatory partner Paul Marquardt also provided support.

Latham & Watkins acted as a legal adviser to VinFast, led by Singapore-based partners Sharon Lau and Stacey Wong, and Tokyo-based partner Noah Carr. The firm’s public company partner Julia Thompson, tax partner Jiyeon Lee-Lim, executive compensation and employee benefits partner David Rocca, ESG partners Paul Davies, Betty Huber and Sarah Fortt, and investment fund partner Laura Ferrell also provided support.

VinFast, which is a Vingroup company controlled by Vietnam’s richest man Pham Nhat Vuong, focuses on the Vietnamese, North American and European markets.

SPAC company Black Spade Acquisition listed on the NYSE in 2017. The company is part of the Hong Kong-based angel investment fund Black Spade Capital, which was founded by the son of Macau’s “King of Gamblers”, Melco International chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho.

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