Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP (Orrick), leading legal advisor to the technology sector globally, advised JD.com Inc. (JD; NASDAQ: JD), the leading e-commerce company in China, in its investment into Chinese auto information website operator Bitauto Holdings Ltd. (Bitauto; NYSE: BITA). JD along with Tencent Holdings Ltd. (Tencent; SEHK: 00700), a leading internet services provider in China and best known for its communications app WeChat, has agreed to invest a total of approximately US$1.55 billion to further develop Bitauto.

“This is a company that always has been out front and delivered a lot of value for shareholders,” Orrick corporate partner Jie (Jeffrey) Sun said of JD. “We are proud to have supported JD in their role in this landmark deal.”

Under the terms of the agreements, JD will invest a combination of US$400 million in cash and approximately US$750 million of resources. Tencent will also purchase US$150 million of newly issued ordinary shares from Bitauto. The transactions are expected to close in the first half of 2015, subject to customary closing conditions.

Orrick’s team included Shanghai and Beijing-based corporate partner Jie (Jeffrey) Sun, Hong Kong-based head of Orrick’s M&A and private equity practice Maurice Hoo, Hong Kong-based corporate of counsel Connie Cheung, and Shanghai-based corporate associate Lu (Echo) Wang.