Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are advising on Singapore investor Temasek’s purchase of a 24.9% stake in Hong Kong retailer A.S. Watson for $5.7bn (£3.5bn).

The government-owned company, which has a portfolio of assets worth $168bn (£102bn) located across Asia, North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, said it wanted to boost its exposure to the consumer retail sector with a balanced focus on Asia and Europe.