Slaughter and May is advising Morgan Stanley Asia Limited (Morgan Stanley) as financial adviser to Brooklyn Investment Limited (Offeror), on the proposed privatisation of I.T Limited (I.T), a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 999). The privatisation will be implemented by way of a scheme of arrangement pursuant to the Companies Act of Bermuda. Upon completion of the proposal, the Offeror will hold 100% of the shares of I.T, and I.T will apply for withdrawal of the listing of its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The privatisation proposal was announced on 6 December 2020. The total amount of cash required to implement the privatisation proposal is approximately HK$1.3 billion (US$168 million).
I.T is incorporated in Bermuda and has been listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since March 2005. It is principally engaged in the design, sourcing and sales of fashion wears and accessories. Its in-house brands include “A Bathing Ape”, “AAPE”, “izzue”, “b+ab”, “5cm”, “fingercroxx”, “: CHOCOOLATE”, “MUSIUM DIV.”, and “Venilla suite”. Licensed brands include “MLB”, “as know as de Rue” and “X-Large”.
The Offeror is a special purpose vehicle held by a consortium formed between the founders of I.T (the current controlling shareholders) and CVC. CVC is a leading private equity and investment advisory firm founded in 1981 with a network of 23 offices and approximately 550 employees throughout Europe, Asia and the US. To date, CVC has secured commitments of more than US$120 billion from some of the world's leading institutional investors across its private equity strategies. In total, CVC currently manages over US$82 billion of assets.