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Schramm Holding AG IPO
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US$23m
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First German listing on HKSE main board
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Firm
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Client
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Role
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Lee International IP & Law Group
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Schramm Holding AG
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Korean counsel
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Lee and Li
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Schramm Holding AG
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Taiwan counsel
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International Legal Counsellors
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Schramm Holding AG
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Thai counsel
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Ramrais & Partners
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Schramm Holding AG
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Malaysian counsel
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Hills & Co
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Schramm Holding AG
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PRC counsel
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CIMA Consultores Economistas y Abogados
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Schramm Holding AG
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Spanish counsel
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DLA Piper
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Guotai Junan Capital, Samsung Securities
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German/HK counsel
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Norton Rose
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Schramm Holding AG
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German/HK counsel
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Eight law firms have worked on the first listing of a European company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s main board (HKSE) – the IPO of Germany’s Schramm Holdings AG.
The global paint coatings manufacturer raised HK$185m (US$23m) in its public offering and for the firms involved on the transaction (see table), the deal was unique for a number of reasons. A team of eight partners at Norton Rose coordinated the transaction across the firm’s offices in Brussels, Frankfurt, Munich and Hong Kong, negotiating with German and Hong Kong authorities to resolve differences in laws for client Schramm Holdings.
The IPO also marked the first German AG-share listing on the HKSE, a decision which the local authorities approved in August last year and which Norton Rose also advised on. “While IPOs of German companies in London or the US are not unusual anymore, listings on Asian stock exchanges are still rare,” said Norton Rose partner Michael Malterer. “In particular the different legal systems – civil law versus common law – which clash during such undertakings impose significant legal challenges on the companies and their advisers.”
Norton Rose has advised Schramm since 2005 when the company acquired three factories in China. The firm also advised on Schramm’s takeover by Korea’s SSCP in 2007, acting for SSCP. Schramm, which has operations in the PRC, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand and Spain, also brought in a number of local firms on the deal to advise on laws in those countries.
For DLA Piper it was the eighth IPO completed in 2009, involving a team of seven lawyers from its Hong Kong and Frankfurt offices. Partner Esther Leung said there may be more IPOs this year, due to the local authorities’ push for more foreign listings. “The IPO backlog has embarked on its clearing path and 2010 is expected to be an impressive year for Hong Kong, as many companies return to expansion mode, capital raising and seeking to list spin-off operations,” she said.
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