DLA Piper, Shanghai Kaiman Law Firm and AZB & Partners have advised on Haier Smart Home’s partial sale of its India appliances arm and fresh share issue for an undisclosed amount.
DLA Piper advised Haier Smart Home, a global producer of home appliances listed in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Germany, on the partial sale of its shareholding in Haier Appliances (India). The transaction also involved the company’s issuance of new equity to an investor consortium, comprising affiliates of global private equity firm Warburg Pincus and New Delhi-headquartered multinational conglomerate Bharti Enterprises.
After completion of the transaction, Haier and the investor consortium each would hold 49% of Haier India, with the remaining 2% allocated to the company’s employee share option plan.
Haier Smart Home, a subsidiary of the Haier Group, is the world’s largest home appliance manufacturer, specialising in intelligent solutions.
Haier India offers a broad portfolio of goods comprising refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, LED panels, water heaters, commercial refrigeration, wine cellars and microwave ovens. In the past seven years, the business has recorded a compound growth rate of 25%.
A cross-practice, multi-jurisdictional team from DLA Piper advised on the transaction.
Corporate partner James Chang, who led the DLA Piper team, said, “This landmark transaction demonstrates the deep strengths of DLA Piper’s pan-Asia corporate M&A and private equity practices, and our ability to deliver exceptional results for leading global businesses like Haier, in an ever-evolving business landscape across East and South Asia.”
On the M&A aspects, Chang was assisted by counsel Shuting Lu, consultant Hao Guo (Beijing) and consultant Yue Wang (Shanghai), together with head of corporate Stewart Wang, consultant Zhiyuan Wu, and associates Sophia Sun and Jenny Wang from Shanghai Kaiman Law Firm.
DLA Piper partner Horace Lam, of counsel Asher Xiuyuan Yan and Amanda Ge, as well as senior consultant Shuting Zhang (all based in Beijing) provided intellectual property advice. DLA Piper’s Singapore-based partner Nathan Bush counselled on competition law, with assistance from senior associate Runyu Liu from Shanghai Kaiman Law Firm.
Further corporate support was provided by DLA Piper partner Katherine Chew, senior associate Karen Lee and associate Melvin Chua (all based in Singapore).
The wider DLA Piper team included tax partner Windson Li (Beijing); corporate partners Benjamin Parameswaran (Hamburg) and Alexander Kolmakov (London); employment partners Johnny Choi (Hong Kong) and Nick Hipwell (London); and litigation and regulatory partner Ernest Yang (Hong Kong); as well as head of litigation Xiaoshan Chen from Shanghai Kaiman Law Firm.
AZB & Partners acted as co-counsel to DLA Piper on Indian law matters.
