LiDAR company Seyond debuts on the HKEX through a de-SPAC merger with TechStar on 10 December, raising HKD1.03 billion. Ten law firms, including Davis Polk, Fangda Partners and Baker McKenzie FenXun, advised on the transaction.
Seyond is the third company to list on the HKEX through the de-SPAC process and is the largest such transaction to date. The stock soared 70% intraday on its debut and closed with a market capitalisation of HKD18.09 billion.
Zero2IPO Capital, CITIC Securities and China Securities International acted as joint sponsors and overall co-ordinators.
A de-SPAC involves a listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merging with a private enterprise to bring the target to market. The SPAC is delisted and the private company becomes the listed entity.
Chairman and CEO Bao Junwei founded Seyond in 2016, providing image-grade LiDAR solutions. Bao previously worked at Baidu as an engineer.
Davis Polk acted as Hong Kong and US legal counsel to Seyond. Fangda Partners counselled on PRC law and data compliance, with partners Jeffrey Ding and Wei Jianbo leading the legal team. Partners Gil Zhang and Li Huihui providing data compliance support. Walkers advised on Cayman Islands law matters. The team comprised Cayman Islands-based partner Hugh Anderson, and Hong Kong-based partners Mark Cummings and Kevin Ho.
Hogan Lovells advised Seyond on US export control and foreign investment laws, while Han Kun Law Offices and BZW Law Firm advised on ongoing PRC patent litigation. The lead partner for the BZW team was board member Bai Xiao.
For TechStar, Baker McKenzie and Han Kun acted as Hong Kong and US legal counsel. The Baker McKenzie team was led by Ouyang Dan, co-head of the Asia-Pacific and China capital markets practice, and partner Winfield Lau. Senior counsel Bao Zhenzhen led the team from FenXun Partners, Baker McKenzie’s joint-operation office in China.
For the joint sponsors, A&O Shearman served as Hong Kong counsel, and Jingtian & Gongcheng acted on PRC law.
Hong Kong introduced its SPAC listing regime in 2022. In October 2024, Singapore-based e-commerce solutions platform Synagistics became the first company to complete a de-SPAC listing in Hong Kong.
