Danning Shao

Practice Areas

Private Equity and Venture Capital, Investments and M&A, China Outbound Investment, Foreign Direct Investment, Capital Markets

Career

Danning Shao is one of the youngest equity partners in Jingtian & Gongcheng Shanghai and Beijing offices. He graduated from Zhejiang University in 2012 with bachelor's degree in Law and dual degree with bachelor in Management, and then he obtained a Master of Laws degree from Vanderbilt University in the United States in 2014. Mr. Shao is qualified to practice law in the PRC and the State of New York in the US.

Mr. Shao advises private equity funds, venture capital investors, investment banks and portfolio companies in domestic and cross-border M&A, private equity financing, IPO on multiple stock exchanges and other general corporate transaction and securities matters. His clients span a wide range of industries, including artificial intelligence, TMT, food and beverage, media, construction, alternative energy, web 3.0, pharmaceutical, and more. Clients rely on Mr.Shao’s broad skill set and look to him for advices on various issues in corporate and transaction matters. Besides, Mr.Shao also focuses on the music industry, representing some of the top artists, songwriters, producers, executives and companies in connection with a variety of music industry transactions. He has substantial experience counseling clients in the motion picture, television, music and new media areas.

In the field of private equity investment and financing, Mr. Shao has represented several remarkable transactions, including the $410 million Series B and $1.2 billion Series C/C+ financing for SenseTime (which won multiple awards such as the 2017 Asian-mena Counsel Deal of the Year and the 2018 China Business Law Journal Deal of the Year), the $600 million Series A financing project for Suning Sports (which won the 2018 China Law Journal Deal of the Year), an RMB 8 billion Series A equity financing for SUNWODA Electric Vehicle Battery, and series rounds of financing for leading XR/VR chip enterprises GravityXR.

In the realm of mergers and acquisitions, Mr. Shao has led numerous significant cross-border M&A transactions. These include Suning's acquisition of Carrefour (which won the 2020 Asian Legal Business M&A Deal of the Year), CMOC Group Limited's acquisition of the Tenke Fungurume mining project in Congo (which won several honors such as the 2017 China Business Law Journal Deal of the Year and the 2018 Asian Legal Business Energy and Resources Deal of the Year), and TUS International Limited's acquisition of Telit's automotive communication business (which won the 2019 China Law & Practice Awards Foreign Investment Deal of the Year). He has also represented well-known private enterprises like CMOC Group Limited and Qingshan Holdings in acquiring mining assets in Zimbabwe.

In the capital market sector, Mr. Shao has represented prestigious domestic and international investment banks and securities institutions such as Goldman Sachs Asia, Merrill Lynch, and Nomura Securities. He has provided legal services for the IPOs, spin-offs, and refinancing of domestic and overseas listed companies including Ctrip (09961.HK), Nayuki Tea (02150.HK), Joyy Inc. (02400.HK), Xiaomi Corporation (01810.HK), Burning Rock Biotech (BNR), Shanghai International Port Group (600018.SH), and iQIYI (IQ).

In the field of music and entertainment law, Mr. Shao has represented numerous well-known artists and entertainment companies, providing services in various transactions such as producing and releasing songs and albums, organizing concerts and music festivals, and serving as brand ambassadors and image ambassadors.

In 2019, Mr. Shao was listed among 30 under 30 legal elites by Legalband.

In 2022, Mr. Shao was recognized as one of the top ten outstanding young lawyers of the year by CLECSS.

In 2023, Mr. Shao was named a Rising Star by China Business Law Journal.

In 2024, Mr. Shao was has been recognized as a Next Generation Partner in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2025 Greater China rankings.

In 2025, Mr. Shao was named a Rising Star by Legalband 2025 in Private Equity and Venture Capital Investment.