GE Healthcare (China) Co., Ltd. (“GE Healthcare”) and China National Medical Device Co., Ltd. (a subsidiary of Sinopharm Group, “CMDC”) recently signed agreements to establish a medical equipment joint venture company in China. JunHe advised GE Healthcare on the establishment of the joint venture and the company’s subsequent business cooperation with CMDC.
By leveraging the experience and strengths of GE Healthcare and CMDC in terms of production, innovation and service, the joint venture company will provide CT and ultrasound equipment for the Chinese market. The joint venture company will expand its product range in the future, based on the latest developments and changes in the Chinese healthcare market.
This joint venture is a major milestone in GE Healthcare’s strategy of full localization in China. GE Healthcare will carry out research and development, production and industrial cooperation in high-end CT and ultrasound equipment with CMDC, which will help the development of the Chinese medical device industry. This is also an example of international cooperation, and promotes cooperation between large state-owned enterprises and internationally leading medical equipment producers, strengthening international cooperation in the field of medical equipment.
The transaction was difficult and complicated in the following ways:
1. The transaction structure was complex. It involved not only the drafting and negotiation of the joint venture contract, but also the drafting and negotiation of certain auxiliary documents related to the operation of the joint venture company after its establishment such as procurement and licensing agreements. JunHe used its expertise to provide the client with professional legal support in a timely manner, ensuring the smooth progress of the transaction.
2. The legal issues involved in the transaction were complex and diverse, involving several jurisdictions, and requiring JunHe to analyze solutions to various complicated legal issues. JunHe worked with various GE Healthcare teams as PRC legal counsel, participated in the whole process of the project, and led the drafting, review and revision of all the Chinese and English language transaction documents. JunHe assisted GE Healthcare to successfully complete the transaction and won high recognition from the client.
The JunHe team working on the project was co-led by partners LIU, Ning, ZHU, Jian (James J. Zhu, Ph.D.) and ZHAO, Hao (Gerry), with valuable assistance from Dispute Resolution partner DI, Qing and Antitrust partner GONG, Mingfang.
