Linklaters advised on the successful take-private of Zhangmen Education Inc.

Linklaters acted as US legal counsel to the Special Committee of the board of directors of Zhangmen Education Inc. (Zhangmen Education), an online education company in China providing quality-oriented education to students, on its successful take-private transaction.

Pursuant to an agreement and plan of merger dated 28 July 2023, the buyer, Mr. Yi Zhang, founder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Zhangmen Education, has acquired all of the company’s outstanding American depositary shares (ADSs) and ordinary shares not already beneficially owned by him at a consideration of US$0.56 per ADS (or US$0.0077778 per share). With the merger closing on 15 November 2023, Zhangmen Education is now privately held, and its ADSs are no longer listed on any securities exchange or quotation system.

The Linklaters team was led by corporate partner Xiaoxi Lin, who specialises in private equity investments and US listed company M&A (including privatisations and SPAC transactions), with support from counsel Wuji Zhang. Linklaters’ London-based US tax counsel Omer Harel and New York-based counsel Amanda Gabai advised on tax issues.