The top firm fielded lawyers in Beijing, Toronto, Johannesburg, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur
Baker McKenzie has helped CITIC Metal up its stake in Ivanhoe Mines by 10% for about US$454m.
This is the second investment in the Canadian miner by CITIC Metal, whose parent company is Hong Kong-headquartered CITIC Limited. The investment ups the conglomerate’s stake in Ivanhoe to 29%.
The investment also allows Ivanhoe to proceed with the construction of its US$1bn Kamoa-Kakula Project’s initial phase. That phase of the Congo mine has a capacity of 6 million tonnes per annum of high-grade copper, Baker McKenzie said.
The top firm fielded lawyers in Beijing, Toronto, Johannesburg, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur to work on the deal. The team was headed by M&A partners Bee Chun Boo in Beijing and Greg McNab in Toronto.
Baker McKenzie acted as lead counsel on the transaction. The team had primary responsibility in preparing and negotiating the transaction agreements, advising on legal and regulatory issues, and general transaction management, the firm said.
“This is the fourth successful major mining transaction on which we acted for CITIC Metal, following the acquisition of a 15% stake in Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração, or CBMM, in 2011; the acquisition of the Las Bambas copper project in Peru in 2014; and the company's initial acquisition of a 19.5% stake in Ivanhoe in 2018,” Boo said.
He said that the firm “could not be more honoured” to have been a partner of the business for all these years, assisting them in navigating the complex legal and business issues that arise in cross-border investments. He said that the firm looks forward to continuing its support of CITIC Metal as it grows its international footprint.
