HONG KONG, Dec. 5 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- International law firm Sidley
Austin acted as U.S. counsel to the initial purchasers JPMorgan and UBS in
connection with Greentown China Holdings Limited's (Greentown) issuance of
its US$400 million 9% Senior Notes due 2013, including "high yield"
covenants, pursuant to Regulation S and Rule 144A.
Matthew Sheridan, a partner in Sidley's Hong Kong office, led the
transaction. This is the fifth high yield bond offering that Sidley has
worked on in Asia to have closed successfully this year.
Mr. Sheridan notes, "The special features of this transaction included
structuring the covenants to allow the company flexibility to invest in
minority-owned entities, within the framework of traditional high yield
covenants. The challenge is to introduce complex products like high yield
debt, particularly in Asia, where the product is not yet prevalent. We
particularly enjoy working with issuers and underwriters to expand the market
for this product."
This latest transaction is the third occasion in which Sidley has advised
the underwriters in connection with a transaction for Greentown. In January
2006, Sidley represented JPMorgan in connection with Greentown's US$150
million convertible bond offering and in July 2006, Sidley also acted for the
underwriters, JPMorgan and UBS, in connection with Greentown's US$400 million
initial public offering, with a listing on the main board of The Stock
Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) and international placements pursuant to Rule
144A and Regulation S. Partners Timothy Li and Constance Choy of Sidley's
Hong Kong office acted on those transactions.
Greentown, headquartered in Hangzhou (Zhejiang Province), China, is one
of the leading residential property developers in China.
Notes for Editors:
Sidley is one of the world's largest full-service law firms, with more
than 1,700 lawyers practicing in 15 offices in Asia, Europe and the U.S.
Sidley is consistently ranked at the top of the Thomson Financial league
tables.
For 2005, the firm was ranked as:
-- top issuer counsel and third as underwriter counsel for U.S. debt,
equity and equity-related offerings;
-- top issuer counsel and top underwriter counsel for U.S. investment
grade debt; and
-- top issuer counsel and third underwriter counsel for U.S. straight
debt, including asset-backed and mortgage backed securities.
In Asia, lawyers in the corporate finance team advise clients on U.S.,
Hong Kong and English law in connection with all types of equity, debt and
equity-linked transactions, including SEC-registered offerings in the United
States, international securities offerings pursuant to Rule 144A and
Regulation S governed by U.S. and English law, The Stock Exchange of Hong
Kong Main Board and Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) listings, and issuances
involving the creation of ADR or GDR programs.
In 2005, Sidley ranked first in relation to the number of transactions
advising issuers and first (tied) in relation to the number of transactions
advising underwriters for listings on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong
Mainboard. (Asian Legal Business, Jan 2006).
In 2006, Sidley was named to Legal Business' Global Elite, their survey
of "the 15 finest law firms in the world."
