DLA Piper Advised Youlife On SPAC Merger To Go Public On NASDAQ
DLA Piper Advised Youlife On SPAC Merger To Go Public On NASDAQ
DLA Piper has provided Legal Counsel to Youlife International (Youlife), a prominent blue-collar lifetime service platform in China and one of the largest non-state-owned human resource service providers. The legal guidance was extended in finalizing a Business Combination Agreement with Distoken Acquisition Corporation (Distoken), a publicly traded Special Acquisition Company (SPAC).
Under the terms of the agreement, Youlife and Distoken are set to merge through newly established subsidiaries of Youlife Group Inc, a Cayman Islands exempted company. Following the consummation of the Business Combination, Youlife Group Inc will act as the parent company of both Youlife and Distoken.
The newly formed entity is poised to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol YOUL. Youlife operates as a leading blue-collar lifetime service platform in China, operating under the brand name Youlan (优蓝). It offers integrated vocational education services, recruitment services, employee management services, and market services for blue-collar talent and businesses in China.
Addressing the challenges within China’s vocational education, blue-collar recruitment, employee management, and market service sectors, Youlife’s platform aims to empower blue-collar workers by providing vocational training and on-the-job skills, facilitating job searches, connecting job seekers with suitable employers, and delivering customized human resources solutions to businesses.
Distoken, established in 2020 as a blank check company in the Cayman Islands, is focused on facilitating mergers, share exchanges, asset acquisitions, share purchases, recapitalizations, reorganizations, or similar business combinations with one or more businesses or entities.
Both parties involved in the Business Combination Agreement are aligned in their belief that it will fortify Youlife's strategic development plans, aiming to bolster and broaden its leading market position in China's blue-collar talent services industry. Additionally, it seeks to expedite its expansion into international markets and attract interest from global investors.
George Wu, a Partner in DLA Piper's Corporate practice based in Hong Kong, expressed, "This marks a significant milestone for Youlife and heralds an exciting phase in its business evolution as it ventures into the US capital markets. With its distinctive business model, Youlife possesses vast opportunities for growth. DLA Piper brings extensive experience in advising clients on SPAC-related transactions globally. This latest deal exemplifies how our teams collaborated with shared knowledge and insights to propel success for Youlife."
George, along with Corporate Partners James Chang and Yang Ge, Co-Led the deal. They received support from Wenhong You, Olivia Lai, Stephanie (Chen) Zhang, Vera Chen, Qianshan Liu, and Jennifer Chen (Kaiman Legal). James, Yang, Olivia, and Stephanie are based in Beijing, while Wenhong, Vera, and Qianshan are all located in Shanghai.
The finalization of the Business Combination is contingent upon regulatory approvals, approval of the transaction by shareholders of Distoken and Youlife, and the fulfillment or waiver of other customary closing conditions.
