About Shenzhen Professional Equity Division Lawyer Tang Yunhong's Exclusive Interview Record - Legal Wisdom Behind the 9 Billion Yuan Property Division in a Public Company Equity Divorce Case

Journalist: Lawyer Tang, thank you very much for taking the time to give this interview today. Lately, there have been frequent reports in financial news about divorce cases involving controlling shareholders of listed companies, such as the divorce of a technology company boss, where his wife received shares worth 9 billion yuan, which is indeed a stunning figure. In the cases you have handled, are divorce cases involving shares of listed companies particularly complex?

Tang Yunhong lawyerIndeed, such cases are often much more complex than ordinary divorce cases. Let me share a case that left a deep impression on me. It is also a case involving the division of divorce equity. The man founded a technology company before getting married in 2008, when the company was valued at about 50 million yuan. After marriage, the couple ran the company together, and the wife not only participated in major corporate decisions but also used her personal network resources to introduce multiple important clients for the company. After ten years of development, the company successfully went public in 2018, with a market value reaching a peak of 5 billion yuan.
By the time the divorce was to take place in 2019, conflicts arose — the woman believed that the company's value increased from 50 million to 5 billion, and she should have a share of that increase; while the man thought the company was entirely his own blood and sweat, and the woman had only "helped a bit."
ReporterIt sounds like this case is indeed tricky. What specific difficulties were mainly encountered in the actual handling?
Tang Yunhong lawyer:(Nodding seriously) There are indeed many difficulties in this case, and I will explain them in detail. First and foremost is the core issue of...Issue of defining the nature of equityAccording to Article 1062 of the Civil Code, the income from production and operation obtained by the couple during the existence of the marriage relationship shall be considered as common property. However, the issue lies in that the basic equity of the company was acquired by the male party before marriage. It is unclear in legal practice which part of the post-marriage appreciation belongs to natural appreciation and which part belongs to the appreciation brought by the joint operation of the couple.
Secondly isComplexity of evidence collationWe need to sort out the company's financial documents over the past ten years, including board meeting minutes, operational decision documents, and financial transaction vouchers, totaling over 2,000. Our team took three months to organize these materials and find key evidence proving the female party's involvement in the business. For example, we found meeting records where the female party personally participated in major investment decisions, as well as her email correspondence with the introduction of key clients for the company.
The most important thing isConsideration of corporate stabilityIf the equity is directly divided, it may lead to a change in the company's control rights, trigger stock price fluctuations, and harm the interests of small and medium-sized shareholders. We have done calculations, and if the direct division plan is adopted, it is very likely to cause the company's market value to evaporate by more than 20%, which is not good for either party.
ReporterHow did you and your team eventually find a solution to so many challenges?
Tang Yunhong lawyerWe innovatively designed a "equity compensation + installment payment" scheme. Specifically, we entrusted three authoritative evaluation institutions to assess the reasonable valuation of the company. Considering issues such as lock-up periods after the company's listing, the final determined market value of the company was 4.2 billion yuan. Then, we calculated that the compensation amount the female party should receive was 850 million yuan.
But the problem arose again——the male party could not come up with so much cash at once. Therefore, we designed a payment plan in installments: a down payment of 3 billion yuan, with the remaining 5.5 billion yuan to be paid over five years, while using a portion of the male party's equity as collateral. To protect the female party's rights and interests, we also set up a penalty clause, requiring the male party to pay a penalty on a daily basis if there is a delay in payment.
The benefits of this plan are obvious: the female party received the due compensation, the male party retained control, and the company's operations were not affected. I remember that on the day we signed the agreement, both parties breathed a sigh of relief.
ReporterThis solution is indeed ingenious. Based on these law enforcement experiences, do you have any professional suggestions for the marriage property arrangements of high-net-worth individuals?
Tang Yunhong lawyerI often tell the parties three things:
Firstly,Pre-marital agreement should be given importance.Don't think that talking about money will hurt feelings; on the contrary, clarifying the property issues and writing them down in black and white can actually make the feelings purer. In a case we handled last year, because of the comprehensive property planning done before marriage, the loss of nearly 100 million yuan was avoided during the divorce.
Second,Public and private property should be separated.Many entrepreneurs are accustomed to mixing company money with family money, which is very dangerous. We suggest establishing standardized financial systems and strictly separating company accounts from family assets.
Third,Consult early when encountering problemsWe find that many parties only seek legal counsel after the conflict has escalated, at which point it is often too late to reverse the damage. If professional help is sought as soon as the problem arises, it would be much easier to resolve.
ReporterWhat do you think is the most challenging in these cases?
Tang Yunhong lawyerIn fact, the most difficult part is often not the legal issues, but how to balance the interests of all parties. As mentioned just now, in that case, we not only need to consider the legal provisions, but also the company's operations, employees' employment, the interests of minority shareholders, and even the social impact. Sometimes, a divorce case may concern the livelihoods of thousands of employees, and this pressure is unimaginable to outsiders.
So I often tell my team members that what we handle is not just cases, but also people's lives. We need professional skills, but more importantly, we need responsibility and empathy.