Giant Interactive

O’Melveny successfully defended Giant Interactive, one of China’s leading online game developers and operators, in a shareholder class action seeking to enjoin Giant’s proposed going-private transaction, which O’Melveny also successfully handled. Giant’s chairman and two investment fund affiliates offered shareholders US$12 per share, amounting to approximately US$3 billion in consideration for the company, which 99.6 percent of Giant’s shareholders voted to approve. Four shareholders filed lawsuits in the Southern District of New York claiming that the process for the transaction was flawed, the disclosures were inadequate, and the purchase price was too low. After O’Melveny helped close the merger, O’Melveny moved to dismiss the plaintiffs’ complaint on various grounds. Faced with a strong motion, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit. China Law & Practice recognized O’Melveny’s work for Giant Interactive with the Private Equity Deal of the Year award and The American Lawyer recognized it in the Global Legal Awards as a Global M&A Deal of the Year: China.