Slaughter and May is advising Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods group, on its global strategic partnership with Alibaba and Farfetch. The partnership, which was announced on 5 November 2020, will provide luxury brands with enhanced access to the China market as well as accelerate the digitization of the global luxury industry.
As part of the global partnership, Alibaba and Richemont will invest $600 million ($300 million each) in private convertible notes issued by Farfetch Limited. Alibaba and Richemont will also invest $500 million ($250 million each) in Farfetch China, taking a combined 25% stake in a new joint venture which will include Farfetch’s marketplace operations in the China region. Alibaba and Richemont have an option to purchase a further combined 24% of Farfetch China after the third year of the joint venture’s formation.
Alibaba and Richemont will also explore additional opportunities to work closely with Farfetch to provide services to luxury brands, including the development of the “Luxury New Retail” initiative, leveraging Farfetch’s and Alibaba’s state-of-the-art omni-channel retail technologies to serve the needs of luxury businesses.
Slaughter and May previously advised on Richemont’s strategic partnership with Alibaba, announced in October 2018, which brought the retail offerings of YOOX NET-A-PORTER to Chinese consumers on Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion.
Slaughter and May is working as an integrated team with Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, led by partners George Stephanakis and Nick Dorsey.