Clifford Chance advises global hygiene and health company Essity on the sale of its majority stake in Vinda
15 December 2023
- Amy Ho, Tommy Tam, Ryan Wong, Cecilia Chan, Anson Wong, Tobias Wong, Yi Yang, Ling Ho, Yong Bai, Dayu Man
- Hong Kong, Shanghai
Clifford Chance advises global hygiene and health company Essity on the sale of its majority stake in Vinda
Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised leading hygiene and health company Essity AB on the proposed sale of its controlling stake in Vinda International Holdings Limited (Vinda), to be implemented by way of a pre-conditional voluntary cash offer made by Isola Castle Ltd, a company indirectly wholly owned by Asia Pacific Resources International Limited, to acquire 100% of the shares in Vinda.
The transaction is the largest third party offer for a Hong Kong listed company announced in 2023 so far, with an offer price which corresponds to an equity value of Vinda of approximately HK$28.3 billion (US$3.6 billion). Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.
Lead partner Amy Ho said, "We are proud to have advised Essity on this high-profile transaction, which demonstrates our expertise in navigating complex M&A and capital market transactions and our ability to deliver seamless service to our corporate enterprise clients. We look forward to continuing our work with Essity to advance their strategic objectives in Asia Pacific and beyond."
Amy was supported by a core team including partner Tommy Tam, counsel Ryan Wong and associates Cecilia Chan, Anson Wong and Tobias Wong. The core team is further supported by partner Yi Yang, senior associate Ji Chen and associate Emily Tong in Shanghai. Partner Ling Ho advised on IP aspects. Partner Bai Yong and counsel Dayu Man advised on antitrust aspects.
Essity is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and conducts sales in approximately 150 countries under leading global brands TENA and Tork and other well-known brands including Tempo, Libero and Libresse. The company traces its roots to the founding of Swedish forest products company Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA), and was renamed Essity after splitting from its timber, paper and pulp operations.
Its subsidiary Vinda is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is one of Asia's largest manufacturers and distributors of tissue and other personal care products.
Clifford Chance regularly advises global corporates on their most significant transactions in Asia Pacific, including previously advising SCA on its pre-IPO investment in Vinda, its takeover of Vinda in 2013, and the subsequent injection of its businesses in Taiwan, South Korea and South East Asia for integration with Vinda. More recently, the firm advised Carrefour on the sale of a majority stake in Carrefour Taiwan and Volkswagen on its strategic investment in XPENG.
高伟绅为全球卫生与健康公司爱适瑞(Essity)出售其所持维达国际多数股权提供法律服务
国际律师事务所高伟绅就领先卫生与健康公司爱适瑞(Essity AB)拟出售其所持维达国际控股有限公司(“维达国际”)控股权一事提供法律服务。本次交易构架为Asia Pacific Resources International Limited间接全资子公司Isola Castle Ltd提出附先决条件自愿现金收购要约,收购维达国际100%的股份。
本次交易是2023年截至目前宣布的第三方对香港上市公司提出的最大规模的要约收购,要约价相当于维达国际约283亿港币(约合36亿美元)的股权价值。交易尚需获得监管部门批准并满足其他常规条件后方可交割。
本次交易牵头合伙人何美玉(Amy Ho)表示:高伟绅很荣幸能协助爱适瑞完成本次备受瞩目的交易,在为本次交易提供法律服务过程中,高伟绅团队彰显了处理复杂并购和资本市场交易方面的专业知识,以及为企业客户提供一站式法律服务的强大业务实力。高伟绅期待能继续同爱适瑞合作,助力爱适瑞完成在亚太地区及其他地区的战略目标。
本次交易牵头合伙人何美玉得到了由合伙人谭诗聪 (Tommy Tam)、黄励行以及陈凯盈、黄炜杰和黄达聪组成的交易核心团队的支持。此外,核心团队也得到了上海办公室合伙人杨毅、季晨和童沁沁的从旁协助。合伙人何秀仪(Ling Ho)就交易所涉知识产权事务提供了法律服务,合伙人柏勇和满大宇就交易所涉反垄断事务提供了法律服务。
爱适瑞在斯德哥尔摩纳斯达克证券交易所上市,销售业务遍及约150个国家,旗下拥有全球领先品牌添宁(TENA)和多康(Tork),以及德宝(Tempo)、丽贝乐(Libero)、轻曲线(Libresse)等其他知名品牌。爱适瑞前身可追溯至瑞典林产品公司爱生雅集团(SCA),之前是爱生雅集团的一部分,后爱生雅集团将其木材、造纸和纸浆业务剥离后,成立爱适瑞公司独立上市。
其子公司维达国际在香港证券交易所上市,是亚洲最大的生活用纸和其他个人护理产品产销公司之一。
高伟绅经常受托处理全球企业在亚太地区的重大交易,此前曾就爱生雅集团在首次公开募股前对维达国际的投资、2013年爱生雅集团收购维达国际以及后续爱生雅集团将其在台湾地区、韩国和东南亚的业务与维达国际整合提供法律服务。近期,高伟绅还就家乐福法国出售其在台湾家乐福的多数股权以及大众汽车对小鹏汽车的战略投资提供了法律服务。