Slaughter and May, Freshfields and STB have advised on John Swire & Sons' sale of its entire direct shareholding in Swire Properties. There was also a $1.3 billion secondary offering raising in relation to the sale, which was valued at HK$4.88 billion ($629 million). The shares being sold account for 3.71 percent of Swire Properties’ issued shares.

On Hong Kong law aspects, Swire Properties and John Swire & Sons were represented by a Slaughter and May team led by partners Richard Thornhill and Lisa Chung.

The Simpson Thacher Hong Kong team that advised Swire Properties and John Swire & Sons on the secondary offering raising of $1.3 billion consisted of Leiming Chen and Blake Dunlap.

Meanwhile, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted for the managers of the sale – HSBC, BOCI Asia Limited, J.P. Morgan Securities, and Morgan Stanley.

Upon completion of the sale, John Swire & Sons will continue to hold an indirect stake in Swire Properties through its shareholding in Swire Pacific.

The sale is expected to take place on Oct. 8.

Kanishk Verghese is North Asia journalist at ALB. Follow us on Twitter: @ALB_Magazine.

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