Zhiyao Li is a corporate associate in the Beijing office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. He is a member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice Groups. Zhiyao advises global and Asian companies and investment funds on cross-border M&A transactions, strategic acquisitions and investments, private equity transactions, pre-IPO financings, joint ventures, going private transactions, PIPEs, and other securities and general corporate matters.
Zhiyao is recognized as a recommended lawyer for Corporate (including M&A) by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Zhiyao worked at a major Chinese TMT company as a senior legal counsel in Beijing and at two other leading international law firms as an associate in Hong Kong and Beijing.
Zhiyao received his Juris Doctor in 2016 from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a member of the Dean’s List. While in law school, he served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Stefan R. Underhill in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut and a legal extern at the Federal Trade Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Zhiyao received his Bachelor of Arts in 2013 from Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Zhiyao is admitted to practice in New York. He is native in Mandarin and fluent in English.
Representative Matters*
- CPE in its sale of a majority stake in Acotec, a Chinese medical technology company publicly listed in Hong Kong, to Boston Scientific, through a US$520 million partial offer.
- The buyer consortium in the going-private transaction of O2Micro.
- The Special Committee of Chindata in the company’s US$3+ billion going private transaction.
- Tencent in various matters, including:
- investment in the Series F funding round of Kuaishou Technology as the lead investor;
- strategic investment in JD.com and renewal of their existing strategic cooperation agreement;
- PIPE investment in Pinduoduo;
- pre-IPO equity investments in Linklogis, MOGU, and Tuhu Car.
- GOJEK in various matters, including:
- business combination with Tokopedia to form GoTo Group;
- investments by Facebook, PayPal, Google, Tencent and other investors in GoPay;
- Series F funding round led by Google, JD.com and Tencent.
- ADC Therapeutics in its joint venture with Overland Pharmaceuticals.
- Cornell Capital in its investment in Lorom.
- Heineken in its strategic partnership with China Resources.
- Unitas Capital in the sale of Jiahao Foods to Huabao International Holdings.
- Temasek in its investments in WeWork China and TutorGroup.
- L Catterton Asia in its investment with JD.com in Secoo.
- A leading Chinese internet company in its participation in a consortium to bid for the acquisition of a leading international wholesale company’s Chinese business.
- A leading Chinese internet company in its joint venture with a global automobile company.
- A global financial services company in its joint venture with a Chinese online payment company.
- A private equity fund in its acquisition of a Taiwanese cable and broadband operator.
- A major international private equity fund in its investment in a Chinese entertainment and media company.
- A private equity fund in its investment in a leading Chinese mobile internet company.
* Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson Dunn.
Capabilities
Credentials
Education:
- Georgetown University - 2016 Juris Doctor
- Beijing Foreign Studies University - 2013 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- New York Bar