Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters and Hong Kong firm Woo Kwan Lee & Lo have scored lead advisory roles on the restructuring of Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing’s business empire.
Li’s Cheung Kong Group said earlier this month that the group will split into two listed companies, one focusing on property and the other on telecoms, retail and energy, in a bid to boost their value and attract more investors.
Investors will now be able to choose from a cyclical property company or a globally diversified conglomerate, providing a more streamlined corporate structure that removes many cross-group investments.
The move is seen by some industry watchers as a prelude to Li ramping up his pace of foreign acquisitions and focusing less on the Hong Kong real estate market, where he is facing strong competition from mainland Chinese developers.
Freshfields’ Hong Kong partners Teresa Ko and Grace Huang are advising Hutchison Whampoa on the merger with Cheung Kong, while Woo Kwan Lee & Lo is acting as Hong Kong counsel on the restructuring and merger.
Linklaters is advising HSBC, the financial advisor to Cheung Kong, on the reorganisation and merger, with a team led by partners Craig Dally, Rob Cleaver and Pamela Shores in Hong Kong.
The group’s two largest listed companies are Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa, which both run a wide range of businesses and have a combined market value of $85 billion.
Under the revamp, the companies will shift their incorporation from Hong Kong to the Cayman Islands. Shareholders in Cheung Kong will swap their shares for a new vehicle registered in the Cayman Islands, which will absorb Cheung Kong's 50 percent holding of Hutchison Whampoa. The combined group will then spin off the property assets.
As part of the reorganisation, Cheung Kong will ask Hutchison Whampoa shareholders to exchange each share for 0.684 CKH Holdings shares, resulting in the cancellation of Hutchison shares.
