The Hong Kong office of the Firm represented the underwriters, led by Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Securities in the US$1.04 billion initial public offering and listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market of 83,500,000 American Depositary Shares of Shanda Games Limited on September 24, 2009. This global offering also included a public offering without listing in Japan conducted by Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. Shanda Games Limited, together with its parent company and selling shareholder, Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited (NasdaqGS: SNDA), raised a total of US$1.04 billion in gross proceeds from the offering, assuming no exercise of the over-allotment option.
The Shanda Games Limited IPO represented (i) the largest ever equity offering by a China-based internet or media company in the United States, (ii) the largest ever single-listed initial public offering by any China-based company in the United States, and (iii) the largest initial public offering in the United States by any issuer to date in 2009. The ADSs of Shanda Games Limited are traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "GAME".
Shanda Games Limited is an online game developer, operator and publisher in China. Shanda Games Limited offers a diversified game portfolio, which includes some of the most popular massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) and advanced casual games in China, targeting a large and diverse community of users.
The Simpson Thacher team for the transaction included Leiming Chen, Daniel Fertig, Asher Hsu and Howie Farn (HK - Corporate), Bill Hinman (PA - Corporate), Andrew Pagliughi and Jennie Getsin (FINRA) and Aaron Cohen (Tax). Paralegals Lydia Yang and Maria Penalo also provided valuable assistance.