Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Limited (the “Company”) is part of AB InBev Group and mainly targets beer markets in the Asia-Pacific region including China, South Korea, India and Vietnam.  In preparation for the Company’s IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (the “IPO”), AB InBev Group established the Company and restructured the group’s subsidiaries located in the Company’s target markets in the Asia-Pacific region.  The IPO was one of the largest IPOs in 2019 with an offering amount of approximately USD 5 billion.  

As the Company’s business covered a number of different jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific, and the IPO and the restructuring were conducted simultaneously, the transaction involved a number of complex legal and regulatory issues.  Given such complexity, it was important for each of the local counsels to conduct its own due diligence exercise and closely work with law firms in Hong Kong for the IPO and law firms in the UK for the restructuring.

Kim & Chang acted as the local Korean counsel to the Company and conducted due diligence of the Korean business, prepared documents necessary for the restructuring, and reviewed and advised on Korean laws and regulations applicable to the IPO.