22 August – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Linklaters has advised Royal Bank of Scotland, as head of a consortium of investors, on the consortium’s US$3.1bn stake in Bank of China. The deal values Bank of China at US$30bn. Bank of China is one of the PRC’s largest banks with 11,307 branches controlling 12 per cent of the Chinese market for loans and 14 per cent of its deposits.
Zili Shao, Linklaters managing partner for Greater China, said:
“This has been an exciting deal for a number of reasons. Not only is it a significant investment in one of China’s leading banks, but it paves the way for joint ventures and business cooperations in a number of areas, including credit cards and wealth management. It will also be a pointer for future strategic deals in this sector.”
The Linklaters team was led by partner Robert Elliott (London), assisted by partners Betty Yap (Hong Kong), Zili Shao (Shanghai), Anne Drummond (London) and Matthew Middleditch (London) who led a team advising on the co-investment vehicle. The Linklaters team worked closely with RBS General Counsel Miller McLean and a team from RBS Group Corporate Legal.
Legal adviser to Bank of China was Sullivan & Cromwell.
