© 2015 The Texas Lawbook.
By Natalie Posgate
(Feb. 3) – Beijing-based ChemChina announced Wednesday that it will purchase the Swiss agrochemical and seeds company, Syngenta, for $43 billion. The deal marks the largest foreign acquisition ever by a Chinese company.
A team from Simpson Thacher, including Houston corporate partner Chris May, led the deal for ChemChina. Others on the corporate deal team come from Simpson Thacher’s Beijing, New York and London offices.
Simpson Thacher has handled various matters for China’s state-owned chemical company for more than six years.
Aside from creating Chinese history, this deal marks the biggest so far this year for a Texas-based lawyer to work on. It also continues May’s streak of handling big-dollar deals.
Last year, May handled Dell’s $67 billion merger with EMC, Walgreens’ $17 billion merger with Rite Aid and Crestwood Equity’s $7.5 billion merger with Crestwood Midstream Partners. He also represented J.P. Morgan, the financial advisor to Regency Energy Partners’ conflicts committee in Regency’s $18 billion merger with Energy Transfer Partners.
Swiss law firm Bärr & Karrer and New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell represented Syngenta.
In a joint statement, the companies said that a U.S. and Swiss tender offer will commence in the coming weeks and that the deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
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