Sidley represented Yum China Holdings, Inc. (HKEX:9987, NYSE:YUMC) (“Yum China” or the “Company”) as Hong Kong and U.S. legal counsel in its secondary listing on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. The offering raised net proceeds of approximately HK$17 billion (US$2.2 billion) before exercise of the over-allotment option. Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC acted as the sponsor for the offering. Joint global coordinators included Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Asia Limited, CMB International Capital Limited, and UBS AG Hong Kong Branch.
Joseph Chan, Chief Legal Officer of Yum China, said: “We are pleased to have had this opportunity to work with the Sidley team on this historic, precedent setting listing. We overcame a variety of challenges, broke new grounds and achieved a number of firsts in the market. It was a collective Herculean effort to consummate this transaction.”
The Sidley team was led by Constance Choy, a member of Sidley’s Management Committee and Executive Committee and the managing partner for the Asia Pacific region, and Paul L. Choi, a member of Sidley’s Executive Committee and global co-leader of the firm’s M&A practice.
Partners Mengyu Lu and Meng Ding head up the China team which also included foreign legal consultant Damien Yeow, counsel Angela Zhang, senior associate Samantha Peng, legal managers Ashlee Wu and Jingwen Dong, China advisors Chris Wang and Stella Yang, associates Bill Feng and Jenny Han, as well as legal assistant Meiyi Li.
The U.S. team included partner Lindsey A. Smith, counsel Sara M. von Althann, and associate Christine Duque. Partners Andrew P. Blake, Thomas J. Kim, and Michael E. Borden, as well as counsel Michael E. Mann also provided full support for the secondary listing.
Yum China is the only Delaware-incorporated company which is currently listed in Hong Kong. It is also the only company outside the TMT sector (technology, media, and telecommunications) which has successfully completed a secondary listing in Hong Kong. The Sidley team assisted Yum China on a broad range of legal issues through to the successful launch of its secondary listing in Hong Kong.
The Sidley team advised on numerous Hong Kong IPOs for leading catering and restaurant companies, including Haidilao International Holding Limited, TANSH Global Food Group, and Tang Palace (China) Holdings Limited.
Sidley is identified as a number one IPO law firm in Hong Kong. According to the most recent data compiled by RyanBen Capital, Sidley remains the number one legal adviser in the Hong Kong IPO league table by deal volume in the past 24 months (August 2018 to July 2020).
