Professional notice
China
Broad & Bright competition practice head Yao Feng – one of the firm’s founders – is universally tipped as one of the best Chinese competition lawyers, and she has built a thriving practice with particular strengths in deal work. The 13-year-old firm holds three other specialist competition partners, and a client roster featuring the likes of Google, private equity shops KKR and Carlyle, General Electric and semiconductor companies Broadcom and MediaTek. The team handled around 100 mergers and investigations between 2014 and the end of 2016.
The Chinese aspects of multibillion-dollar global deals are Broad & Bright’s clear forte. In 2015, the team represented semiconductor manufacturer NXP during its $11.8 billion acquisition of Freescale, which saw Mofcom grant its first conditional approval in three years. Other highlights include representing Medtronic in its $42.9 billion acquisition of Covidien; car safety system supplier TRW as it was bought by ZF Friedrichshafen for $12.4 billion; HP as it bought Samsung’s printer business for just over €1 billion; and the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in its €9 billion acquisition by Lockheed Martin.
Few Broad & Bright matters are in the public domain. However, the team has been involved in the NDRC’s auto parts investigation, successfully bagging a mitigated penalty for a confidential client. It also represented a global shipping company in the same enforcer’s liner shipping probe, and a US telecommunications company in the NDRC’s first-ever commitments case.
Broad & Bright, founded in 2004, is a full-service Chinese law firm providing a broad range of specialized legal services in multiple practice areas for domestic and international clients, Among the various practice areas, Broad & Bright is one of the leading law firms in antitrust law practice in China.
The antitrust team of Broad & Bright has extensive and expertise in the competition law practice, including merger control review, cartel investigation, antirust compliance and counseling. The quality service has won the recognition by the clients and the legal society. It has been awarded by prestigious legal ranking publications such as Chambers, Global Competition Review, China Business Law Journal, and Asian Law & Practice.
Ms. Feng Yao is one of the founding members of Broad & Bright since 2004 and she is also the head of BB’s antitrust team. She graduated from Jilin University Law School, Jilin, China, with a LL.B. and from Columbia Law School, New York, with a LL.M. Upon graduation from Jilin University, she worked in MOFTEC (now the Ministry of Commerce) as governmental counsel and later worked at Washington D.C. Office of Covington & Burling till 2003.
Experience in Anti-monopoly Practice
Since August 1, 2008, MOFCOM has cleared around 2,000 transactions to date, out of which Broad & Bright has represented over 280 filings, many of which are either high profile or significant cases. Broad & Bright is one of the local firms that handle most of the cases.
Broad & Bright is experienced and has the expertise in handling sensitive and complicated cases. In MOFCOM’s 30 conditional approvals so far, Broad & Bright handled over one third of the cases, including China’s first conditional approval of Inbev’s acquisition of Amnheuser-Busch. In 2009, Broad & Bright represented Coco-cola in its acquisition of Huiyuan case, which is one of the most complicated filings in China and involved political concerns. In 2015, Broad & Bright assisted Seagate in successfully obtaining approval by MOFCOM to lift its “hold separate” restriction, which is the first case where the “hold separate” conditions were completely released. Within the same year, Broad & Bright represented NXP in its acquisition of Freescale, which is the first conditional approval of MOFCOM where the “upfront buyer” situation was involved in the divestment remedy. Besides, Broad & Bright is the firm that handles most of the conditional clearances in China up till now.
Broad & Bright has also advised many clients on various antitrust issues, including representing clients in cartel investigations and other behavioral investigations with National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
In addition, Broad & Bright has extensive experience in advising international companies in compliance with the AML.
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