News

Dillon Eustace acted as advisor for Zhongze Culture Investment Holdings Ltd who spearheaded a Chinese investment consortium bid to acquire Goodbody in Ireland. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close by the end of the year.

The Zhongze Group is a Chinese investment holdings company, with a broad sectoral investment mandate specialising in Culture, Technology & Financial sectors. It has offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Macau, London & Dublin. It will own 100% of one of Ireland’s oldest financial institutions post completion, and intends to integrate the Goodbody Capital Markets, Investment Banking, Wealth Management & Asset Management business with its ambitious growth plans in Asia.

The transaction was led by Lorcan Tiernan, Partner and Head of the Dillon Eustace Corporate and M&A Team, with support from Catherine Hicks. David Lawless provided Tax Advisory with Regulatory and Compliance support from Breeda Cunningham and Enda McGeever.

Commenting on the deal, Lorcan Tiernan, Head of Corporate and M&A said: "We are delighted to act for Zhongze Group in this landmark deal. Ireland is attracting significant interest from the Asian market as a European Gateway. Dillon Eustace is proud to offer a multidisciplinary team with a keen understanding of both markets, and the financial services sector in particular, to provide seamless support and the best advice to our clients.

"We look forward to the next chapter for Zhongze Group as it leverages the Goodbody acquisition to grow into a truly international financial services business providing international and Chinese investors access to high growth sectors of the Chinese financial economy."