Baker McKenzie FenXun Advises ArcelorMittal on its Joint Venture with China Oriental Group

Global law firm Baker McKenzie and Chinese law firm FenXun, through the joint operation platform Baker McKenzie FenXun, have advised ArcelorMittal on the signing of agreements with Hong Kong-listed China Oriental Group Company Limited ("China Oriental Group") to establish two joint ventures for the production of HRC substrates and new energy soft magnetic material ("NEMM") products. The total investment for the two joint ventures amounts to USD 2.66 billion.

ArcelorMittal is one of the world's leading integrated steel and mining companies, with a presence in 60 countries and primary steelmaking operations in 15 countries.

On 16 October, ArcelorMittal and China Oriental Group entered into agreements to establish an Upstream JV for the production of HRC substrates, and a Downstream JV for the production of NEMM products, as well as related supply agreements and technology licensing agreement.

The Upstream JV primarily focuses on designing, building and operating a hot strip mill in Tangshan, Hebei Province. Meanwhile, the Downstream JV primarily focuses on designing, building and operating a manufacturing plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, for the production of NEMM products targeting various sectors in the China market, including automobile, industrial motors, home appliance and power generation.

The deal team, comprising a cross-practice group of lawyers from Baker McKenzie and FenXun, was led by Shanghai-based Cherrie Shi from FenXun.

Other key team members involved were:

• M&A: Richard Gao (Partner, Shanghai), Jacky Zhu, (Senior Counsel, Shanghai)
• Real Estate: Alex Gong (Partner, Shanghai), Tammy Tang (Associate, Shanghai)
• Antitrust: Laura Liu (Partner, Beijing)
• Capital Markets: Han Bing (Partner, Beijing)
• Compliance & Ethics: Henry Chen (Senior Counsel, Shanghai)

Baker McKenzie is a transactional powerhouse, with more than 2,700 deal lawyers in 45 jurisdictions offering pragmatic counsel in the areas most critical for clients. The Firm excels in complex transactions and cross-border deals, with over 65% of its deals being multijurisdictional. The teams are a hybrid of "local" and "global," combining money-market sophistication with local excellence.