Kirkland & Ellis and Linklaters are advising on the proposed HKD14.3 billion (USD1.8 billion) privatisation of freight operator ANE, garnering the company’s highest valuation since listing four years ago and it will delist from the HKEX on completion.
ANE’s privatisation will be conducted via a scheme of arrangement. The offeror, Celestia BidCo – a consortium vehicle jointly owned by Centurium Capital, Temasek and True Light Capital – will acquire all shares of ANE at a cash offer price of HKD12.18 per share.
Following the resumption of trading on 30 October, the company’s share price surged, climbing as high as HKD11.55, nearly 30% above its closing price on the last trading day before the suspension on 27 October. On 11 November, the stock opened at HKD11.62.
Kirkland is acting as the consortium’s legal counsel, with partner Joey Chau leading the team, supported by partners Brian Ho, Leo Zhou and Wang Jiayi ad well as registered foreign lawyer Sherry Fu. The firm has assembled a cross-regional team for the transaction. Partners Jacqueline Zheng, Karen Ho and Sean Zhang are advising on debt financing; Aleksander Bakic, Jennifer Feng and Jerry Choi are counselling on investment funds; and Alasdair Balfour, Mark Gardner and Michael Thorpe are acting on antitrust matters.
Linklaters is counselling the financial adviser, JP Morgan, to the offeror, with partner Roger Cheng leading the team.
ANE is one of China’s largest less-than-truckload freight network operators, offering express services including transportation, value-added services and delivery to both e-commerce and industrial clients. The company had incurred losses since listing, but recorded a profit in 2023.
Following the delisting, ANE would be free from the pressures of short-term expectations, share price fluctuations and disclosure obligations from the capital markets, thus better positioning it to pursue core operations and long-term growth with greater flexibility, the company said in an announcement to the HKEX.
