Lawyers from Bristol-headquartered Burges Salmon have worked on the complex, cross-border acquisition of a majority holding in historic UK metals firm Henry Bath by a Chinese logistics group.
Beijing-based CMST Development Co paid $60m (£38.5m) for a 51% stake in Henry Bath, one of the world’s oldest metals storage firms, from Swiss commodities trader Mercuria Energy Group. 
The Burges Salmon team, which included corporate finance, tax, commercial, real estate and employment lawyers, advised on the UK aspects of the acquisition, supporting Chinese law firm Fangda Partners alongside law firms in the US, Singapore, and the Netherlands.
CMST, which is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, is the first Chinese organisation to enter the London Metal Exchange’s (LME) storage network and highlights the increasing influence that China has in trading on the international metals markets.
Mercuria acquired Henry Bath in 2014 as part of its $800m takeover of the physical commodities business owned by JPMorgan Chase. Established in 1794, Henry Bath provides its clients with a global platform of warehousing and logistics capabilities.
Its network of nearly 50 warehouses stretches from Liverpool to Malaysia. It also handles cocoa, coffee and steel.
Burges Salmon head of corporate finance Richard Spink, pictured, who led its team said: “We were very pleased to have the opportunity to work closely with Fangda Partners on this deal, which marks a significant development in the metals trading world.”
