Herbert Smith Freehills is advising Chinese aerospace and mining firm Shaanxi Ligeance Mineral Resources ("SLMR") on its £326 million proposed acquisition of aerospace parts manufacturer Gardner Aerospace ("Gardner"), which was announced on 16 November 2016. 

SLMR is a company headquartered in China and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It is the ultimate parent company of a group whose current main activity is mineral exploration and production, but whose interests include a growing aerospace machining and component manufacture division.

Gardner, headquartered in Derby, UK, makes parts which are used by Airbus among others and is currently owned by Better Capital.

SLMR, along with its subsidiary Chengdu Aerospace Superalloy Technology ("CAST"), has agreed to purchase Gardner for £326m.

The Herbert Smith Freehills team is led by London Corporate partner Mark Bardell and assisted by London Senior Associate Joseph Dennis.

Completion of the acquisition remains subject to certain legal conditions and regulatory approvals including SLMR's shareholder approval and consultation with Gardner's French subsidiary's works council, as is required under French law.