Davis Polk & Wardwell and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have the lead roles in a $748 million tie-up between Chinese supermarket operator Wumart Stores Inc’s and C.P. Lotus Corp., a similar chain partly owned by Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group.
As part of the deal, CP Lotus will take a 14 percent stakes in Beijing-based Wumart for $374 million while Wumart will take 10 percent stakes in CP Lotus for $71 million. Wumart will also pay $302 million for 36 CP Lotus stores to expand foothold in Northern China.
