Allen & Overy advised BMW on the acquisition of the majority controlling stake in BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd.

BBA is a joint venture between BMW and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. (CBA). The relevant regulatory procedures have been completed on 11th February 2022, and the transaction was completed on 18th February 2022.

The transaction was transformative, highly complex and required BMW to navigate a dynamic regulatory environment and be solution-oriented to overcome complex legal and commercial challenges. BMW was able to complete the acquisition only shortly after the regulatory restriction on foreign investment in this sector in China was removed as of 1st January 2022. 

Allen & Overy partner Jack Wang, commented: “We are delighted to have assisted our client BMW on this landmark transaction, which is a market-first for the PRC passenger vehicle manufacturing sector.”

The BMW legal team was led by Dr Andreas Liepe (General Counsel BMW Group), Dr Stefan Schroecker (Assistant General Counsel BMW Group), Dr Karsten Erhardt (Senior Legal Counsel BMW Group), Dr Carsten Lammers (Head of Legal Affairs BMW Group China), Dr Matthias Christoph Wahl (Senior Legal Counsel BMW Group) and Dr Moritz Mau. (Legal Counsel BMW Group).

The Allen & Overy team on this matter was led by partner Jack Wang (Shanghai), with support from partner Jonathan Hsui (Hong Kong), partner Dr Astrid Krueger (Munich) and Paul Jing from Shanghai Lang Yue Law Firm, A&O’s joint operation partner in China (Lang Yue) who provided PRC law advice. Anti-trust advice was provided by partner François Renard (Hong Kong), partner Juergen Schindler (Brussels) with support from senior associate Jiaming Zhang (Lang Yue). Melody Wang and Ran Chen from Lang Yue also provided PRC law support.