Reynolds cleans up in tissue brand sale

Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) advised Swedish paper products giant SCA, which has annual sales of more than £7.4bn, on the sale of its Softis tissue brand to Italian tissue company Sofidel.

The transaction involved SCA selling the Softis brand, associated patents and production facilities.

The sale is the latest in a string of deals RPC has undertaken for SCA in recent years, including its $200m (£102.49m) investment in, and subsequent buyout of, Copamex's Central American tissue business in December 2004.

The Softis sale stems from commitments given by SCA to the European Commission as part of the merger clearance of its £350m acquisition of Proctor & Gamble's European tissue business in 2007, on which RPC also advised (The Lawyer, 19 March 2007).

Corporate partners Jonathan Watmough and James Mee led the RPC team working on both deals, while Sofidel was advised by German firm Redeker Sellner Dahs & Widmaier.

Howrey's London competition head Tom McQuail advised SCA on competition issues.