Keystone Law’s Corporate M&A Team have advised leading events business Media 10 on the sale of Design Shanghai and Design China Beijing events to Clarion Events, one of the world’s largest events organisers with offices across 15 jurisdictions.

Media 10 operates more than 30 live events worldwide, including the Ideal Home Show and Grand Designs Live. Design Shanghai, which was launched just five years ago, is widely regarded as Asia’s premier international design event and one of the most prestigious design events worldwide, and the recently launched Design China Beijing already attracts over 20,000 professionals involved in the industry.

Due to the cross-border nature of the transaction with English and Chinese components, the sale required multiple legal advisers. Keystone’s team, led by Nadim Zaman, partnered with Dentons China to undertake a pre-sale group reorganisation, and split exchange and completion to facilitate Chinese regulatory approval for the change of ownership.

The Keystone team comprised Nadim Zaman, Andrew Stilton, Albert Mennen, Lily Thaddeus and Daisy Batchen on the corporate aspects of the deal. Tom Daltry advised on tax, Denham Bell on employment, Suzy Schmitz on commercial, and Carolyn Bertin on intellectual property.

Gary Gao led the Dentons China team and was assisted by Ida Diao on the corporate side. Kevin Cheng advised on commercial and intellectual property aspects, Glenn Desouza on tax, and Henry Chen on regulatory.

Nadim Zaman, Keystone Law, said:

“We are delighted for Lee, Steve, Mike and the Media 10 team for this milestone deal that is the result of growing Design Shanghai and Design China Beijing to the world-class events they are today. This was a complex transaction that highlighted the firm’s strength in depth, working alongside another global law firm and US investment bank to achieve a well-deserved result for a great client.”

Gary Gao, Dentons, commented:

“We enjoyed working with Keystone Law on this mid-market, cross-border M&A transaction for Media 10 and look forward to working with Nadim Zaman and the rest of the team in future.”

Steve Woolmer, Media 10, added:

“Keystone Law provided outstanding service and fielded an impressive team of specialists, led by Nadim Zaman who we have worked with before and proved once again to be a consummate deal-doer. Nadim offered a blend of strategic insight and pragmatic, clear advice and at times moved mountains to take us to completion. This was a key transaction for Media 10 and will provide the business with the capital to invest in future acquisitions and new product launches.”

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