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China

Contacts

Jenny Y. Liu
Partner, San Francisco
T: +1.415.983.1021
Geoffrey Sant
Partner, Miami
T: +1.212.858.1162
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Pillsbury’s China team combines local knowledge, global perspective and industry experience, and has been honored twice with the International Law Office’s Client Choice Award for China.

Pillsbury’s China practice comprises more than 40 U.S., Chinese and international lawyers highly regarded for extensive experience in advising Chinese clients on strategic outbound investments and foreign investors doing business in China or investing in the region. Our team includes bicultural lawyers, some native to China and others who have lived in the region. Many are native speakers or fluent in Mandarin and other dialects. Backed by deep experience in China and insights into the political and economic climates and culture that are essential for success, we advise on everything from mergers, acquisitions, and inbound and outbound investments to deal structuring, regulatory compliance and dispute resolution.

Our lawyers in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong collaborate with team members in our offices around the world to provide comprehensive guidance that reflects the complexities and nuances of cross-border transactions, designing tax-efficient structures and assuring compliance with foreign exchange, FCPA and other regulatory requirements. Regarded as leaders in foreign direct investment, M&A, corporate finance, venture capital, and public as well as private equity transactions, we guide investors and entrepreneurs through the investment process, including the formation and structuring of investment funds and other onshore and offshore investment vehicles.

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Working closely with lawyers in related Pillsbury practices, including Corporate, Finance, Intellectual Property, International Trade, Global Sourcing, Securities Litigation & Enforcement, Real Estate, Employment, Regulatory and Tax, we offer full-service global representation and highly proficient legal counsel that reconciles Western and Chinese legal concepts. Further, we are able to conduct transactions in Chinese, perform due diligence of Chinese-language documents and prepare dual-language documentation required for transactions in China. Our multidisciplinary, multicultural teams offer extensive experience in assisting clients with:

  • Inbound Foreign Direct Investment and Joint Ventures
    • Pillsbury helps establish joint ventures, wholly foreign-owned enterprises and strategic alliances utilizing flexible and tax-advantaged structures. We counsel clients on market entry strategies in light of China’s complex political, legal and regulatory regimes, and we assist with ongoing PRC operational issues and exit strategies. We are a market leader in devising structures to enable clients to participate in regulated industries as well as to make them attractive to international investment.
  • China Going-Global Strategies
    • China is a major international investor across a range of industries. Our fully integrated global China practice works with major Chinese companies and financial institutions on their most complex and large-scale global projects in the United States and throughout the world.
  • Real Estate, Infrastructure and Construction
    • We represent foreign investors bringing resources and experience to projects in the PRC, as well as PRC companies and financial institutions involved in the rapidly growing volume of Chinese investment in North American and European real estate and infrastructure.
  • Capital Markets Transactions and Corporate Finance
    • Pillsbury handles hundreds of public offerings and private placements each year in the United States and international securities markets, representing issuers, underwriters, broker-dealers, investment advisors and investors. We are a leader in counseling PRC companies in accessing the U.S. capital markets, and we have assisted dozens of PRC companies in successful corporate finance transactions.
  • Energy
    • We represent PRC and international energy companies in infrastructure projects, strategic investments and commercial transactions all over the world.
  • Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions
    • We represent clients in complex, negotiated and non-negotiated domestic and cross-border M&A transactions involving public and private companies, going-private transactions, privatizations and leveraged buyouts. Our clients include bidders, targets, significant stockholders, boards of directors and special committees, as well as lenders. We advise on proxy contests and solicitations and challenges, takeover defensive measures, acquisitions of distressed assets in and out of bankruptcy, loans and leveraged buyouts.
  • Venture Capital and Private Equity Financing
    • We guide startups through all stages of the investment process and help clients protect their intellectual property, negotiate optimal distribution deals and strategic alliances, and implement growth strategies. Further, we represent venture capital and private equity investors structuring investment in portfolio companies, as well as portfolio companies in capital raising and in implementing growth strategies. Beyond legal services, we frequently connect the venture capitalists we know with companies we represent.
  • Antitrust and Competition Law
  • Banking and Finance, Including Project Finance
    • Pillsbury’s Finance lawyers represent corporations, banks, insurance companies, investment funds in commercial lending, derivatives, equipment finance, leveraged finance, project finance, trade finance, structured finance, debt restructuring, tax-exempt financing, and distressed investing and debt trading. We offer a broad spectrum of corporate trust and agency services, from initial issuance to defaulted obligations, and we are experienced in cross-border credit facilities and a multitude of deal structures in the major- and middle-market sectors.
  • Litigation, International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
    • We represent clients in courts throughout the United States, in ADR proceedings worldwide, including representation before the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), and we are skilled at resolving disputes through negotiated settlement.
  • Corporate Structuring
    • From formation through financing, acquisitions and joint ventures, Pillsbury’s corporate lawyers advise companies on a global scale and at every life cycle stage. Our 200+ business-savvy corporate lawyers combine industry and regulatory knowledge with extensive deal experience and legal skills to provide comprehensive service to clients across industries. We routinely advise non-U.S. companies on the establishment of operations in the United States, including formation of subsidiaries, advice on choice of legal entity and corporate organizational structure, assistance with registrations in states and other local U.S. jurisdictions, negotiation of commercial agreements and financing arrangements with U.S. counterparties, advice on corporate governance matters, and compliance with other corporate legal requirements on U.S. business operations.

Representative Experience

  • Represented one of the largest integrated construction/real estate companies from China in a $1.5 billion infrastructure and real estate project in the United States.
  • Represented Beijing E-Dragon Semiconductor Industry Investment Center in its $286 million acquisition, including navigating the CFIUS review process, of all outstanding shares of Mattson Technology Inc., a global semiconductor wafer processing equipment provider. 
  • Advised a Japanese motor company regarding localization of its premium brand vehicle in China with its joint venture partner.

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  • Provided guidance to a leading German automobile company’s financial entity in its recent restructuring of its investment platform in the PRC and the business expansion in new mobility solutions.
  • Advised a major U.S. construction machinery manufacturer regarding its various inbound acquisitions and joint ventures and other regulatory compliance issues in China.
  • Represented major PRC and Taiwan telecommunications and consumer electronics companies in ITC actions and other IP transactional and litigation matters in the United States.
  • Represented a major Chinese investor in commercial, retail and hospitality assets in the United States.
  • Acted as Rule 144A counsel to a China-based dairy company in its $200 million IPO and listing on HKEx.
  • Served as Rule 144A counsel to AirAsia X in its $310 million IPO and listing on Bursa Malaysia.
  • Represented a number of publicly traded Chinese companies in securities litigation in the United States.
  • Represented Global Environment Fund in a $30 million Series A investment in UPC Renewables China, an independent renewable energy producer in China.

Practice Area Highlights

  • China Business Law Journal, leading international firm in:

- Energy & Natural Resources (2020-2021)

- Government & Public Policy (2022)

- Dispute Resolution (2021)

- International Trade (2021-2023)

- Aviation (2020)

  • Chambers Global guides rank the following Pillsbury practices:

- Greater China Region, International Trade/WTO (International Firms) (2023)

- Global, Asset Finance (2021-2023) and Outsourcing (2021-2023)

- USA, International Trade: CFIUS Experts (2022-2023); Export Controls & Economic Sanctions: The Elite (2023); Trade Remedies & Trade Policy (2021-2023); and in Technology Sector (International & Cross-Border) (2019-2023)

  • China Business Law Journal, China Deal of the Year, in the Capital Markets category for client Leapmotor Technology’s $807 million public listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (2022)

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  • Short-listed by China Law & Practice Awards for Firm of the Year, International Dispute Resolution (2021-2022)
  • Honored Twice with the Law Office’s Client Choice Awards for China
  • The Asian Lawyer, Asian Legal Awards: 2018 Aviation Firm of the Year & 2018 New Asian Office
  • The Asian Lawyer, “M&A Deal of the Year: North Asia” in 2018 and “Single Asset Transition of the Year (over $25 million)” at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit Awards (2018)
  • People’s Daily has described Pillsbury’s legal team as the largest Chinese-fluent legal team in New York
  • WorldECR Awards 2018, Highly Commended Export Controls and Sanctions Firm of the Year: Rest of the World

Resources

CHINESE LANGUAGE SITE

CHINA THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Brochure

Greater China Practice Brochure (Chinese)

Brochure

Greater China Practice Brochure (English)

Case Study

(Zhongzhi) Hong Kong Client’s Win Sets Important U.S. Precedent

Awards

China Law & Practice Awards

Firm of the Year
International Dispute Resolution

China Business Law Journal

Leading International Law Firm 2022

China Business Law Journal

Deal of the Year 2022

2022 Chambers Greater China Region

At-A-Glance

普盈荣誉概览

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