Grace Tso

Grace’s practice focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions for foreign investors and foreign direct investment into China and Hong Kong. She also advises multinational companies on the planning and implementation of multi-country corporate restructuring projects.

Reorganization / Carve-out

• Advised Advent International on the carve-out of Laird Thermal Systems business from the other business Laird Performance Materials business in China.

• Advised Abbott Laboratories in the spin-off of its research-based pharmaceutical business and the formation of a new publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company, AbbVie Inc.

• Advised Baxter International on its USD 21 billion spinoff of its biopharmaceutical division (now Baxalta) in China and Hong Kong.

• Acted for Emerson Electric Co. in the China and Hong Kong portions of the USD 4 billion sale of its Network Power business to Platinum Equity and the pre-spin off restructuring.

• Acted for Emerson Electric Co. in the China and Hong Kong portions of the USD 1.2 billion sale of its Leroy-Somer and Control Techniques business units to Nidec Corporation and the pre-spin off restructuring.

• Acted for Johnson Controls in carve-out of automotive seating business (now Adient).

M&A

• Advised Unilever Prestige on its e-commerce related joint venture with Hangzhou Golong Holding Co., Ltd. for the distribution of certain Prestige brands products in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

• Advised Mizuho Financial Group on the acquisition of an aircraft leasing business from Ping An International Financial Leasing and to enter into a joint venture with Ping An to form the newly-named leasing company Clover Aviation Capital.

• Advised Mitsui-Soko Holdings Co., Ltd. on the acquisition of freight-forwarding business from Prime Cargo in China.

• Advised METRO AG on the establishment of a strategic partnership with Wumei Technology Group (Wumei), a leading retailer in China involving the sale of its entire stake in METRO China for EUR 1.9 billion to an investment vehicle of Wumei against cash and a 20% stake in the resulting joint venture.

• Acted for AkzoNobel in its buy-out of its decorative paint business in Hong Kong and China from Swire Industrial Limited.

• Advised Tencent on its joint venture with other key investors such as ICBC, HKEx and Hillhouse.

• Law Society of Hong Kong

• Chicago