Fangda represented Apollo Group (“Apollo”), led by Apollo Global Management Inc. in its acquisition of the automotive business through acquisition of majority shares in Panasonic Automotive Systems Co., Ltd. (“PAS”) from Panasonic Holdings Corporation (“PHD”), involving a total consideration of JPY311 billion. Through this transaction, all of the shares of PAS wholly owned by PHD will be acquired by Star Japan Acquisition Co., Ltd. (“New PAS Parent“), which is indirectly owned by the funds managed by Apollo, and PHD will acquire 20% of the shares of Star Japan Holdings Co., Ltd. (“Holding Company”) which is holding company of New PAS Parent. Going forward, PHD and Apollo will aim to further growth of PAS by leveraging respective management resources, knowledges, technologies and professional know-how in automotive industry, as well as investment experiences and network in global automotive companies and businesses, as a strategic joint partners of PAS business.
The transaction was announced on March 29, 2024 and was closed on December 2, 2024. The Fangda team on this deal was led by partner Andrew Zhang and Haiping Sun, supported by team members including Jason Xu, Munan Cao, Jinjin Lu, Bingyuan Zhao, Kyle Liu, Esh Chen and Dawn Gu. Fangda acted as the PRC legal advisor of the deal, provided legal advice to the transaction, and participated in legal due diligence, pre-closing reorganization, drafting of the transaction documents and the closing.
Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. PHD is a global leader in developing innovative technologies and solutions for wide-ranging applications in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, industry, communications, and energy sectors worldwide.
