Kirkland & Ellis, Jingtian & Gongcheng and Maples Group are among five firms having assisted on the world’s fifth-largest air conditioner manufacturer AUX Electric’s debut on the main board of the HKEX, raising HKD3.99 billion (USD511 million).
AUX Electric appointed Kirkland & Ellis as its Hong Kong and US legal counsel, with the advisory team consisting of partners Lu Mengyu, Justin Zhou, Anne Kim and Phil Giglio.
Jingtian & Gongcheng advised AUX Electric on PRC law, with Fu Siqi, Huang Jia and Pang Xiuwen acting as lead partners on the team, while partner Zhou Yang provided support on data compliance matters.
Maples Group’s partner Karen Zhang Pallaras advised the issuer on Cayman Islands law.
Freshfields team was led by Richard Wang, partner and head of China equity capital markets, and partner Howie Farn, counselling the sole sponsor CICC and other underwriters on Hong Kong and US law. AllBright Law Offices senior partners Zhang Xiaohong and Li Bo advised on PRC law.
AUX Electric offered 238 million shares for HKD17.42 apiece, at the top end of the price range. It had plans to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, but due to significant uncertainty regarding the A-share listing timeline, it ultimately turned to the Hong Kong capital markets.
The air conditioner maker has been operating for more than 30 years. It was dubbed the “price butcher” for triggering an industry-wide price adjustment after it revealed the cost of a 1.5-horsepower air conditioner was only RMB1,748 in 2002.
