China Tower $36 billion acquisition of tower assets

Overview:

• China Tower acquired the tower assets of the three state-owned Chinese telecom giants China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom.
• The acquisition is the second step of a three-phase reform, with the next to be listed and complete the mixed-ownership reform of China Tower.
• As the supplier for the trio, China Tower acquired the tower assets of its clients and introduced a new shareholder, China Reform Holdings Corporation (CRHC), which is directly guided by the State-owned Assets Commission to participate in the reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
• It is the world’s largest M&A in tower assets and China’s top M&A by value after the reorganisation of China’s telecom industry in 2008.
• The total value was estimated to reach Rmb231.4 billion ($36 billion).
• It is a flagship for the reform of SOEs. In the transaction, the complicated network of companies involved in the deal posed challenges on issues including the supervision of state-owned assets and listed companies, and the concentration of undertakings. 
• Commerce & Finance Law Offices acted as legal counsel to China Tower.
• Sullivan & Cromwell acted as legal counsel to China Mobile.
• AnJie Law Firm acted as legal counsel to China Unicom.
• Morrison & Foerster acted as legal counsel to China Unicom and China Telecom.
• Haiwen & Partners acted for China Telecom.

Adam Majeed - Asia Editor