Freshfields Advised Renault Group on Geely Joint Venture and Combustion Engine Business Carve-Out

Freshfields Advised Renault Group on Geely Joint Venture and Combustion Engine Business Carve-Out

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Freshfields) provided legal counsel to Renault, the French automobile major, in establishing a 50/50 joint venture with Geely, a Chinese multinational automotive company. The joint venture's primary objective is to lead the global market in developing, manufacturing, and supplying top-notch hybrid and highly efficient internal combustion engine powertrains.

In addition to assisting Renault in the creation of the joint venture with Geely, Freshfields, a prestigious Magic Circle law firm, also guided Renault Group in structuring and implementing the carve-out of its internal combustion and hybrid engines business. This carve-out mainly involved operations conducted in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Portugal, Spain, Romania, and Turkey.

The transaction required the collaboration of over 60 lawyers from Freshfields, spanning five different offices. Additionally, lawyers from eight other jurisdictions were also involved in supporting and executing the deal.

The Freshfields team, taking charge of this significant transaction, is led by partner Guillemette Burgala and counsel Aïleen Legré. Assisting them are senior associate Kanitha Neal and associate Aia Eid.

The team's efforts extended to Intellectual Property (IP) matters and commercial contracts, led by partner Giles Pratt, alongside senior associates Tony Gregory and Tom Hingley, as well as associates Cameron Skinner, Nicola Fish, Francesca Teng, and Vanessa Jiang.

For merger control matters, the team received guidance from partner Laurent Garzaniti, alongside principal associate Clémentine Vande Maele and associate Victoria Delettre.

Counsel Enrique Carrera, together with associate Javier Fernandez, provided advice on foreign investment matters during the transaction.