Pillsbury Advises Cenntro Automotive Group Limited on its Combination with Naked Brand Group Limited

Naked Brand Group will acquire the outstanding capital stock of three wholly-owned subsidiaries of Cenntro in a stock for stock transaction under a purchase agreement pursuant to which Cenntro shareholders will own approximately 70% of the combined entity on a fully-diluted basis. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur prior to the year-end and is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals. Upon completion of the transaction, Naked Brand Group is expected to change its name to Cenntro Electric Group Limited.

Founded in 2013, Cenntro has produced and delivered over 3,300 electric commercial vehicles. Cenntro’s purpose-built electric commercial vehicles are designed to serve a variety of corporate and governmental organizations in support of city services, last-mile delivery, and other commercial applications. Cenntro plans to introduce four new models to serve the light- and medium-duty market by the end of 2021 and its mission is to leverage its technological and R&D capabilities in areas such as vehicle design, digital component development, vehicle control software, and smart driving to become a technology leader in the electric commercial vehicle market.

In addition to Russo, who is spearheading Pillsbury’s representation of Cenntro, the multi-practice team advising on the transaction included Corporate & Securities partner Ted Powers and associates Ian Cohen and Melissa Bales; Tax partner Nora E. Burke; Intellectual Property partner Edward A. Cavazos; Finance partner Joseph M. Fastiggi, senior counsel Kenneth Suh, and associates Daniel Welch and Danielle Unterschutz; Executive Compensation & Benefits partner Jessica Lutrin and associate Ena Kaur; International Trade partner Aaron Hutman, counsel Matthew Ross Rabinowitz, and associate Zachary Rozen; Corporate China counsels Carrie Bai and Amy Liu; Environmental & Natural Resources special counsel Reza Zarghamee; and Antitrust & Competition attorney Evan Storm.