A cross-border King & Wood Mallesons team is advising China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) on its landmark £6 billion investment in Hinkley Point C plant in Somerset, the UK’s first nuclear power station in 20 years.

Under a Strategic Investment Agreement with French energy company EDF Group, CGN has acquired a 33.5% stake in Hinkley through its newly established company General Nuclear International and will also develop two additional nuclear power stations at Sizewell in Suffolk and Bradwell in Essex.  EDF's share in the project will be 66.5%.

CGN, a major Chinese state-owned enterprise, is the largest and most experienced nuclear power reactor operator in China. In line with China’s 'Go Global’ strategy, CGN plans to develop and become a majority shareholder in future UK build nuclear plants, whilst expanding its global footprint.

As Chinese and European legal counsel, King & Wood Mallesons advised CGN on all merger control and state aid matters relating to its joint ventures with EDF for nuclear new-build projects in the UK, as well as on related strategic, commercial contract, regulatory and corporate matters. The cross-border team was led by European-based partners Elaine Gibson-Bolton, Neil Upton, Ian Wood and Angus Eevers together with China-based partners Pan Yujia, Xu Ping, Handel Lee and Yao Lijuan.

As the only international law firm able to practice both Chinese and European law, King & Wood Mallesons was able to provide CGN with deep local capability across both regions to facilitate this strategic offshore investment.

Pan Yujia, Shenzhen Corporate partner at King & Wood Mallesons, said: “King & Wood Mallesons has been perfectly placed to take CGN global. Working seamlessly across offices and time zones, we delivered a deep understanding of Chinese, UK and European markets, their regulatory structures and business cultures. This is a significant deal for the firm as we continue to develop our cross-border practice, which combines our local depth with our global platform and the connections between Asia and the rest of the world.”

Ian Wood, London Energy & Infrastructure partner at King & Wood Mallesons, said: “We were delighted to have been a part of such a ground-breaking signing. As leaders in the global nuclear field, China is building more new reactors than anyone else and is bringing its unique capability, technology and expertise to the UK. This new development is hugely exciting and will bring great economic benefits to China, France and the UK.”

The deal between EDF Group and CGN was signed in the presence of British Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese President Xi Jinping (Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister David Cameron) on Wednesday 21 October 2015, during the Chinese President’s state visit to London.