DLA Piper has advised Sirio Pharma Company Limited ("Sirio") on the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, Treerly Health Company Limited ("Treerly") for approximately US$ 150 million to Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary of Pfizer Inc. ("Pfizer").

Sirio is a private, closely held contract manufacturing company in China that produces dietary supplements and drugs and is already a qualified third-party supplier to Pfizer Consumer Healthcare.  Treerly is a top healthcare brand in China and provides a wide range of female nutritional healthcare products through a wide distribution channel.  The acquisition of Treerly will complement the range of nutritional healthcare products offered by Pfizer and bolster its leading position in the OTC and dietary supplement markets in China by leveraging existing sales and marketing in this space.

Under the terms of the agreements, which will take effect post-closing, Sirio will continue to manufacture and supply products to Treerly. 

Paul Chen, partner and Head of Corporate Asia said: "This is Pfizer's first acquisition of a domestic company in China and we were engaged as international counsel to help Sirio understand the requirements of an acquirer of Pfizer's calibre, how they might approach an acquisition and how Sirio might best protect its own interests with a goal of completing the sale. This transaction highlights the importance of international counsel having the ability to bridge differences in legal, cultural and management styles in a cross-border transaction".

Paul Chen, partner and Head of Corporate Asia (Hong Kong) led the deal, supported by Sheng Wu, Foreign Legal Consultant (Hong Kong).