Sidley represented XtalPi Holdings Limited (HKEX: 2228) (XtalPi) in connection with its HK$1.13 billion (US$145 million) placing of 264 million new shares under general mandate. It is one of the largest share placements in Hong Kong in the past year. The placing agents (in no particular order) are CLSA Limited and Guotai Junan Securities (Hong Kong) Limited as joint overall coordinators and Kingkey Securities Group Limited as co-manager.
XtalPi is the first artificial intelligence (AI)–powered drug and new material discovery company listed in Hong Kong, and also the first Specialist Technology Company listed under Chapter 18C of the Hong Kong Listing Rules that came into effect in March 2023. Sidley also represented XtalPi in this landmark transaction in June 2024.
Founded in 2015 by three quantum physicists trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), XtalPi combines quantum physics, AI, cloud computing, and automated robotics to provide R&D solutions and products for a wide array of industries, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology, petroleum and renewable energy, and advanced materials.
The Sidley team is led by partners Claudia Yu and Meng Ding. Other team members include counsel Liming Xu, and senior managing associate Selina Wong and managing associate Bailey Wei.
Sidley’s equity capital markets practice has been ranked by Chambers Greater China Region/Asia Pacific for over a decade. It has won the distinguished “Securities Firm of the Year” award at the Law.com International’s Asia Legal Awards 2024.
It is also the only firm to have been ranked Band 1 in life sciences by Chambers Greater China Region/Asia Pacific for 16 consecutive years. It also launched a new AI Monitor, a centralized resource of AI-related content including Sidley thought leadership, the latest laws and regulations pertaining to AI, firm-hosted events, and access to Sidley’s AI lawyers.
