Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Clayton Utz are representing baby-food maker Biostime International Holdings on its purchase of Swisse Wellness, an Australian manufacturer of vitamins and health supplements, for AU $1.6 billion ($1.2 billion).
Herbert Smith Freehills is acting for Swisse, which is selling 83% of its business to the Guangzhou-headquartered company.
Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Biostime edged out Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital and Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding after a tight bidding race. The sale will be completed by the end of September, pending approval from shareholders in Hong Kong as well as regulators in Australia.
Biostime said in a statement that it plans to enter the family-nutrition market and grow beyond its current portfolio of baby-care and pediatric nutritional products.
Freshfields’ Simon Weller is handling the Hong Kong and international law aspects of the acquisition, while fellow partner Daniel French is in charge of the financial details.
The Clayton Utz team, led by Sydney partner Rory Moriarty and supported by other Sydney partners Niro Ananda and Alex Schlosser, is Biotime’s Australian counsel. Raji Azzam, a partner at HSF’s Melbourne branch, is advising Swisse.
