Global law firm Freshfields is advising Kirin Holdings Company Limited (“Kirin Holdings”) and its subsidiary, Kyowa Hakko Bio Co. Ltd. (“Kyowa Hakko Bio”), on the sale of the international business of manufacturing and selling certain amino acids and Human Milk Oligosaccharide (“HMO”) operated by Kyowa Hakko Bio to Meihua Holdings Group Co Ltd, a China-based company principally engaged in the production and distribution of biological fermented products, including amino acid-related products. Kirin Holdings is a Japanese company with a diverse business portfolio that spans food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, and health science. Kyowa Hakko Bio is a leading company in the research, development, and production of innovative bioactive ingredients.

The Freshfields team advising on the transaction was led by partners Takeshi Nakao, Gordon Palmquist and Kaori Yamada in Tokyo with support from senior associates Naoki Matsushita, Chiyokazu Shindo and Emily Seo and associates Seira Shin-Clayton, Takahiro Sato, Yusuke Kanbayashi and Shunsuke Fukuda. US Partners Nabeel Yousef, Stephanie Cripps, Aimen Mir, Nicole Foster and Claude Stansbury, senior advisor Brian Reissaus, counsel Jeremiah Nelson, senior associates Noah Lipkowitz and Andrew Leeds, and associates Andrew Gabel and Casey Hagen are providing US law advice. The Freshfields team also includes Hong Kong Partner Richard Bird, Shanghai Partner Alan Wang, Beijing counsel Ya Ma, Singapore Counsel Cedric Lindenmann, London senior associate Joshua Critchlow and Shanghai associate Tracy Gu.