Baker & McKenzie is acting as counsel to Tian Ping Auto Insurance Company Limited (“Tian Ping”), the leading Property & Casualty insurance company in China, on its strategic alliance with AXA, as part of which AXA will acquire a 50% stake in Tian Ping for a total consideration of Euro 485 million.
Under the terms of the agreements and subject to regulatory approval, AXA will buy 24.4% of the company from Tian Ping’s current shareholders for RMB 1.9 billion (Euro 237 million) and subscribe to a dedicated capital increase for RMB 2 billion (Euro 248 million) to support future growth. Tian Ping’s current shareholders and AXA will jointly control Tian Ping. AXA’s existing Chinese P&C operations are expected to be merged and absorbed into the new joint-venture.
The multi-jurisdictional Baker & McKenzie team advising Tian Ping is led by Hong Kong-based Martin Tam, partner and head of the Firm’s insurance practice in Hong Kong, with support from Shanghai-based senior associates, Robin Koh, Jiahua Wu and Charles Chen, as well as Beijing-based special counsel, Scott Silverman, and associate Mark Wong. The team was also assisted by lawyers from the Firm’s intellectual property, employment and banking & finance practices.
Commenting on the deal, Martin Tam said, “We are delighted to work with Tian Ping on this complex and novel transaction. Given that this is the first time a foreign insurance company will form a joint venture with a Chinese insurer by way of share transfer and merger, the transaction raised a number of unique regulatory aspects which we successfully handled.”
Tian Ping was established in 2004 in Shanghai. It is the first Chinese insurance company to specialise in motor insurance in China and one of the first insurers to receive a direct distribution license. With over 5,000 employees, Tian Ping has 62 offices in 18 provinces in China.
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