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Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has advised the sponsors and underwriters on the HK$10.13 billion (US$1.31 billion) global offering and the secondary listing of New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc (09901.HK / EDU.NYSE) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Credit Suisse, BofA Securities and UBS were the joint sponsors and joint global coordinators for the offering. The company completed its secondary listing on the mainboard of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 9 November 2020 under Chapter 19C of the Hong Kong Listing Rules.

Established in 1993, New Oriental is now the largest provider of private educational services in China. The company debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in 2006 as the first overseas-listed Chinese education company.

"Mainland education companies are popular with investors in Hong Kong, and we have seen a number of successful listings from the sector in recent years,” said Hong Kong partner Matt Emsley. “The company expects continued growth after this secondary listing, supported by its decades of experience in China’s booming private education industry.”

Herbert Smith Freehills has now advised on a quarter of all listings by mainland China education service providers in Hong Kong since 2016. The firm has advised Virscend Education (01565.HK), China New Higher Education (02001.HK), Minsheng Education (01569.HK), Xinhua Education (02779.HK), Shanghai Gench Education Group (01525.HK), Cathay Media & Education Group (01981.HK) and Leader Education (01449.HK) on their listings.

“New Oriental is the first education company to complete a secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since the introduction of Chapter 19C of the Hong Kong Listing Rules which started the trend of a string of high-profile home-coming secondary listings in Hong Kong,” added Matt.

“Secondary listings in Hong Kong have generated considerable investor interest in 2020,” said Beijing partner Zhong Wang. “We are delighted to have worked with our clients on New Oriental’s offering and secondary listing, and congratulate the company and sponsors on a successful offering.”

Matt and Zhong led the team advising the sponsors, assisted by senior consultant Jeremy Shen, registered foreign lawyer George Wu, associates Jaime Fong, Karen Liu, Afra Li and Bryan Cheung, and trainees Vivian Tam and Siqi Huang in Hong Kong, as well as paralegal Daina Wang in Beijing.

Senior legal specialist Joanna Hu led a joint team from Herbert Smith Freehills and Kewei's Alternative Legal Services businesses to provide high-efficiency solutions for document-intensive processes during the offering, assisted by Rena Zhu, Susie Xu, Shawna Peng, Selina Wang, Ying Song, Ellie Mao, Wendy Shi, Xiaoli Shi and Yilin Li in Shanghai and Yuanyuan Yin in Beijing. The two firms' Alternative Legal Services businesses are the only operations of their kind in mainland China.

全球领先的律师事务所史密夫斐尔作为新东方教育科技集团 (09901.HK / EDU.NYSE) 联席保荐人的境外律师,为其101.3亿港元 (13.1亿美元) 全球发行及在香港联交所二次上市提供法律服务。

瑞信、美银证券和瑞银是此次发行的联席保荐人和联席全球协调人。新东方根据《香港上市规则》第19C章在香港完成二次上市,于2020年11月9日登陆香港联交所主板。

新东方成立于1993年,是中国目前最大的民办教育服务提供商。该公司于2006年作为第一家海外上市的中国教育公司在纽约证券交易所首次公开发行。

史密夫斐尔香港办公室合伙人艾迈修 (Matt Emsley) 表示:“中国内地教育公司颇受香港投资者的欢迎,近年来我们看到一大批教育行业公司成功在港上市。得益于在蓬勃发展的中国民办教育行业数十载精耕细作,新东方在二次上市后将会取得更大发展。”

自2016年以来,史密夫斐尔已经为四分之一中国内地教育公司在港上市提供了法律服务,其中包括成实外教育 (01565.HK)、新高教集团 (02001.HK)、民生教育 (01569.HK)、中国新华教育 (02779.HK)、建桥教育 (01525.HK)、华夏视听教育 (01981.HK) 和立德教育 (01449.HK)。

艾迈修补充道:“新东方是《香港上市规则》第19C章出台以来首家在港完成二次上市的教育公司。这一规则的推出开启了回归港交所二次上市的风潮,吸引了一批备受瞩目的公司。”

史密夫斐尔北京办公室合伙人王重表示:“2020年,在港二次上市热潮引发了投资者的广泛兴趣。我们很荣幸就新东方此次全球发行和二次上市与客户共同合作,衷心祝贺新东方和保荐人取得的成功。“

合伙人艾迈修和王重率领律师团队为此次上市联席保荐人提供法律服务。主要团队成员包括香港办公室沈志良 (Senior Consultant)、吴卓人 (Registered Foreign Lawyer)、方靖颐 (Associate)、刘晓韵 (Associate)、李宝卿 (Associate) 、张皓阳 (Associate)、谭玮茵 (Trainee)、黄思琪 (Trainee),以及北京办公室王黛娜 (Paralegal)。

胡西瑞 (Senior Legal Specialist) 率领的史密夫斐尔和科伟替代性法律服务 (ALT) 联合团队在发行期间为文件密集型工作提供高效率的解决方案,主要成员包括上海办公室朱笑笑、顼昊、彭祺程、王思颖、宋颖、茅唯一、石惠文、施晓黎、李依琳和北京办公室尹圆圆。史密夫斐尔与科伟提供的替代性法律服务是中国内地目前唯一此类业务。

 

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Matthew Emsley

Managing Partner, China, Hong Kong

Matthew Emsley

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Sally Greig

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Vivian Huang

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