Simpson Thacher represented private equity funds managed by Blackstone in its acquisition of International Gemological Institute (“IGI”) from Shanghai Yuyuan Tourist Mart (Group) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Fosun, and Roland Lorie, who belongs to the founding family.~~Founded in 1975, IGI is a global leader in independent certification of diamonds, gemstones, and jewelry, with a global footprint of 29 laboratories and 18 schools of gemology across 10 countries. IGI is the world’s first gemological laboratory to hold ISO accreditation in both natural and lab-grown diamonds. Since 2005, IGI has pioneered the certification of lab-grown diamonds, paving the authentication and standardization of a rapidly growing industry.~~The Simpson Thacher team included Ian Ho, Erik Wang, Jasper Ma, Jack Nalen, Boli Chen and Uyen Linh Tu (M&A); Christopher Wong, David Yun and Stephanie Chan (Capital Markets); Makiko Harunari, Rick Wei, Anuj Shah and Alvin Kwong (Credit); Jonathan Goldstein and Scott Grundei (Tax); Lori Lesser, Jessica Cohen and Kate Mirino (IP); Pasco Struhs (Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits); Étienne Renaudeau and Sarah Chaudhuri (Antitrust); Leah Malone and Emily Holland (ESG); and Steve DeLott (Insurance).