[SMULA Masterclass] The Value Adjustment Mechanism (“Dui Du”) in Equity Investment Agreements in China <Zhang Wei>

This masterclass examines the development and contemporary controversies surrounding “value adjustment mechanisms” (VAMs, or Dui Du) in China’s equity investment agreements. 

Originating from venture capital and private equity practice, VAM clauses are designed to allocate risks arising from valuation uncertainty by linking future adjustments in equity ownership, compensation, or repurchase obligations to the target company’s post-investment performance. While such arrangements have become common in China’s financing market, they have also generated persistent legal and theoretical debates. 

The masterclass first traces the origins and economic rationale of VAM arrangements. It then examines the evolution of Chinese judicial and regulatory approaches toward VAM agreements. The masterclass concludes by discussing recent cases and emerging controversies surrounding VAM enforcement, and introducing another type of VAM used in M&A cases.

The SMU Law Academy Expert Masterclasses are advanced skills and case-study based programmes where participants will learn from the industry’s top experts in a specific area of practical importance. Typically taught in a face-to-face format, such sessions will help participants to acquire practical in-depth knowhow to aid their development. All the masterclass instructors are specially curated and are recognised as experts in their areas.

SPEAKER

Zhang Wei is a Professor and Associate Dean of the Singapore Management University, Yong Pung How School of Law. He earned his LL.B. from Fudan University, M.A. in Civil Law from Waseda University, LL.M. from Harvard Law School and Ph.D. in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from UC Berkeley. Dr. Zhang specializes in corporate and securities laws, law and economics, and Chinese law. He focuses on quantitative empirical studies of law and the effects of legal system on our society. His works have been published in various peer-reviewed journals in U.S., U.K., mainland China and Taiwan. He presents routinely at major international conferences in law and economics and empirical legal studies. Dr. Zhang has also been invited as a visiting professor or guest speaker to top universities and regulatory agencies in China, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, as well as the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. 
 

FEES

The SMU Law Academy has an established track record of providing the legal profession with high quality seminars and other opportunities to remain fully informed about contemporary legal developments in Singapore and beyond. Its carefully curated listing of seminars is developed with the profession’s multi-faceted needs in mind and meets the requirements of the CPD scheme. The Academy also administers the Auditing Scheme which enables members of the legal profession to consolidate and upgrade their understanding of the law by auditing courses in the School’s LL.B., J.D. and LL.M. programmes. For an overview of upcoming SMU Law Academy events, please click here. 


 

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