Jiao Liang’s team recently represented a Jiangsu-based medical device company (the “Target Company”) in a share repurchase arbitration administered by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), successfully exempting the Target Company from over RMB 200 million in joint repurchase liability.
Several years ago, a fund invested RMB 200 million in the Target Company, with an agreement requiring the Target Company to complete a domestic IPO by the end of 2023. When the listing failed to materialize as scheduled, the fund initiated arbitration under the VAM (valuation adjustment mechanism) agreement, seeking to hold the Target Company and several of its shareholders jointly liable for repurchasing all shares held by the fund, with a total repurchase price exceeding RMB 200 million.
Jiao Liang served as the lead counsel for the Target Company. The defense centered on the non-establishment of the company’s repurchase obligation, arguing that any repurchase must comply with applicable corporate law procedures, and that affixing the corporate seal to the repurchase agreement did not constitute an assumption of joint repurchase liability.
The arbitral tribunal adopted the core arguments of the defense, ruling that only certain shareholders should bear the repurchase obligation from their own assets, and that the Target Company bore no repurchase liability whatsoever, maximizing the protection of the client’s interests.
原文为中文业绩报道，由焦梁律师团队微信公众号「焦梁商事金融律师团队」发布。 The original article was published in Chinese by the Jiao Liang Commercial & Financial Lawyers Team WeChat account.
中文原文 / Chinese Original
近日，焦梁律师团队接受江苏某医疗器械公司（以下简称"目标公司"）委托，代理一起由中国国际经济贸易仲裁委员会（CIETAC）审理的股权回购仲裁案件，成功免除目标公司逾2亿元的股权回购连带责任。
本案中，某基金于数年前向目标公司投资2亿元，约定目标公司须于2023年底前完成境内上市。后因上市计划未能如期实现，该基金依据对赌协议，向贸仲提起仲裁，请求裁决目标公司及其多名股东对基金所持全部股权承担连带回购义务，回购价款合计超过2亿元。
接受目标公司委托后，由焦梁律师作为主办律师代理本案。我方围绕"公司回购义务不成立"展开全面抗辩，重点论证了回购须履行相应公司法程序、目标公司在回购合同上盖章的行为不等于对回购行为承担连带责任等。
经审理，仲裁庭采纳了我方核心代理意见，仅裁决部分股东以自有财产承担回购义务，目标公司不承担任何回购责任，最大化维护了当事人权益。
