M & A

Mergers and Acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions (“M&A ”) are at the core of our practice. We regularly advise a wide range of international corporate clients on cross border and multi-jurisdictional M&A , complex joint ventures, disposals and general commercial and corporate governance issues. Our client-focused M&A work is defined by creativity and a commitment to careful planning and coordination throughout.

We have been adviser of choice on a large number of the more complex public and private company M&A transactions in Hong Kong, particularly on deals involving an international cross-border or significant PRC dimension. We have advised on significant M&A transactions across a broad section of industries, and are particularly experienced in advising on M&A in the mineral and natural resources sector.

We are frequently retained by major domestic and international mineral companies, financial institutions and leading international law firms to provide strategic counsel in M&A transactions. Among other things we advise on share and asset sales and transfers, take-overs, take-over defences, amalgamations and plans of arrangement.  Our lawyers combine expert technical advice with a pragmatic and commercial approach.

At Charltons we are committed to helping our clients succeed. We acknowledge that mineral companies, particularly junior and pre-production companies, operate in an environment in which otherwise typical commercial transactions are often complicated by a unique combination of technical, financial and legal challenges.

Charltons is member of a number of international networks of top-tier independent law firms practicing in the world’s leading mining jurisdictions. We are positioned to offer our clients an integrated service on a broad range of M&A transactions in the mining sector including those with an international dimension.

Charltons’ Mergers and Acquisition services include:

• Takeovers, mergers and acquisitions in both private and public markets
• Due diligence investigations
• Management/leveraged buyouts
• Privatisations
• Group restructurings and reorganisations
• Corporate finance and structuring
• Charltons has worked on several M&A deals in the mining sector, including the following:
  • Advised Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. – a Hong Kong and Shanghai listed miner – on its acquisition of Commonwealth & British Minerals Plc., a wholly- owned subsidiary of Avocet mining Plc. The target company owned significant gold assets in Tajikistan
  • Advised Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. in relation to the acquisition of KazakhGold Group Ltd., a company listed in the U.K.
  • Advised Golden Resource Mining (BVI) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd in their acquisition of of Indophil Resources NL,
  • Advised Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd on its acquisition of Kyrgyz and Kazak gold assets
  • Advised Zijin International Mining Co., Ltd on its acquisition of certain Iranian assets owned by Rio Tinto pursuant to an international auction process
  • Advised a PRC consortium company, Xiamen Zijin Tongguan Investment Development Company Limited, in relation to a cash offer to acquire Monterrico Metals Plc, an AIM-listed miner with copper assets in Peru, the first ever Chinese takeover of a UK listed company.
  • Advised Hunan Nonferrous Metals Corporation Limited on a proposed A-Share issue and on a separate M&A amendment.
  • Advised Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. on its acquisition of Norton Gold Fields Limited, an ASX-listed gold miner.