Simmons & Simmons Advises China-Africa Investment and Development Co., Ltd. on its Acquisition of a Controlling Stake in Gold Mine Project in Africa

International law firm Simmons & Simmons has advised China-Africa Investment and Development Co., Ltd. (CAIDC) on its acquisition of a controlling stake in a gold mine project in Africa. CAIDC is a joint venture between Poly Technologies Inc. and China-Africa Development Fund, focusing on mining investment in Africa.

This transaction was complex due to the regulatory risks introduced by a new law of the host government. After the signing of the initial transaction documents and in view of the issues created by local laws, lawyers helped CAIDC to restructure the transaction through adopting a favourable investment structure.

At the closing of the acquisition, CAIDC indirectly holds 51% of the shares of the gold mine project company. The remaining 49% is held by an Africa focused international mining group.

The Simmons & Simmons team was led by Beijing Partner Eric Lin and assisted by associates Chloe Xu, Geoffrey Mullen and Liz Hsu.

Commenting on the transaction, Eric Lin said: "We are delighted to have assisted CAIDC to close this important project in Africa. This was a particularly challenging transaction to work on because of regulatory risks associated by the local laws".

http://www.simmons-simmons.com/en/News/2013/04-Apr/China-Africa-Investm…