DLA Piper advises Lanvin Group on USD1 billion de-SPAC merger to go public on New York Stock Exchange

DLA Piper has advised Lanvin Group Holdings Limited, the fashion arm of Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, on a de-SPAC merger that saw it go public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “LANV” on 15 December 2022. The transaction values the Lanvin Group at a combined equity value in excess of USD1 billion.*

Lanvin Group entered into a business combination agreement with Primavera Capital Acquisition Corporation (PCAC), a special purpose acquisition company listed on NYSE, which resulted in Lanvin Group listing under the Lanvin Group name. PCAC is an affiliate of Primavera Capital Group, a leading global investment firm.

Lanvin Group, which was established by Fosun International Limited in 2017, is a leading global luxury fashion group headquartered in Shanghai, China. It manages several iconic brands worldwide including Lanvin, Wolford, Sergio Rossi, St. John Knits, and Caruso. The company operates in more than 80 countries with 3,600 employees, and has more than 300 retail stores.

Christina Loh, Capital Markets Partner in Hong Kong commented “We are delighted to support Lanvin Group on this significant transaction that enables it to access US capital markets. It represents huge potential for the newly merged entity and the growing SPAC market for international companies.”

Joe Bauerschmidt, Country Managing Partner, Singapore and Head of Capital Markets, Southeast Asia added “It was a pleasure to advise our client on this milestone transaction which is expected to have significant impact on both international luxury goods and SPAC markets. We have witnessed significant interest in cross border de-SPAC transactions and continue to assist our clients with their investments in this fast-moving market.”

DLA Piper has served as the legal adviser in multiple de-SPAC transactions globally. The unique and multi-jurisdictional nature of this transaction involved DLA Piper lawyers from Hong Kong, Singapore, US, UK and Austria, demonstrating the strength of DLA Piper’s global network and cross-market capital markets capabilities.

The DLA Piper team was co-led by Christina Loh, Capital Markets Partner, Hong Kong and Joe Bauerschmidt, Country Managing Partner, Singapore and Head of Capital Markets, Southeast Asia. They were supported by Senior Associate, Michael Ho (Hong Kong), Associates Karen Lee (Singapore) and David Lam (Hong Kong), and Registered Foreign Lawyer Yu Sun (Hong Kong) all from the Corporate practice.

The team was assisted in the US by Tax Partner Stephan Harris (Boston), Litigation Partner Paolo Morante (New York) and Corporate Partner Jeffrey Lehrer (Washington, DC). Corporate Partner Alex Tamlyn and FPR Partner Mark Dwyer (both based in London) provided support in the UK, while Corporate Partners Elisabeth Stichmann and Christian Temmel, and FPR Partner Jasna Zwitter-Tehovnik all provided support in Vienna. Singapore based Litigation & Regulatory Partner Nathan Bush and his team provided support on Asia Anti-trust and Competition matters.

*To note, most shareholders are subject to a lock-up and share prices are expected to stabilize in a couple of months.