The shares were sold to Lee & Man Paper Chairman Lee Man Chun Raymond and CEO Lee Man Bun for a total consideration of HK$1.27 billion. Nippon Paper remains a shareholder of the company with an 8.62% stake in Lee & Man Paper.
In connection with the reduction of Nippon Paper’s stake in Lee & Man Paper, a shareholders agreement entered into in June 2010 between Nippon Paper and Gold Best, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lee & Man Paper, has been terminated, together with any formal business collaboration agreements involving Lee & Man Paper.
The Appleby team was led by Judy Lee, a corporate partner in Appleby’s Hong Kong office, assisted by Associate Maggie Kwok. Linklaters was the onshore legal adviser to Nippon Papers.
Nippon Paper Group is one of the largest pulp and paper manufacturers in Japan with a diverse range of products, including paper, paperboard, household paper products, and specialty and high-performance products.
For further information please contact Queenie Ngan.