Kirkland Represents Zhaoke Ophthalmology on $270 Million Hong Kong IPO

Kirkland & Ellis advised Zhaoke Ophthalmology Limited (HKSE: 6622), a spin-off of Lee’s Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited (HKSE: 0950), on its $270 million global offering and listing on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited on April 29, 2021. Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. and Jefferies Hong Kong Limited were joint sponsors and joint representatives for this IPO.

Zhaoke is an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of therapies that addresses significant unmet medical needs. Zhaoke has built a comprehensive ophthalmic drug pipeline of 25 candidates that covers most major ocular indications affecting the front and the back of the eye, through either in-house development or in-licensing, with a goal to become a leader in China and the neighboring ASEAN market.

Zhaoke received strong endorsement from blue-chip investors for its pre-IPO investment rounds, including GIC, Hillhouse Capital, TPG, Loyal Valley Capital, Orbimed and Aier Eye Hospital. The IPO also attracted eight cornerstone investors, including, among others, Matthews International Capital Management, CaaS Capital, GIC, Loyal Valley, Jennison Associates, Mass Ave Global, and OrbiMed.

Read Zhaoke’s listing document

The Kirkland team was led by capital markets partner Mengyu Lu.