NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION

For immediate release

1 NOVEMBER 2018

RECOMMENDED CASH ACQUISITION

of

Sinclair Pharma plc ("Sinclair ")

by

Huadong Medicine Aesthetics Investment (HongKong) Limited ("Huadong")

(a newly incorporated company indirectly wholly-owned by Huadong Medicine Co., Ltd. ("HMC"))

 Court sanction of the scheme of arrangement

On 28 August 2018, the Boards of Sinclair and Huadong announced that they had entered into an agreement regarding the terms of a possible offer by Huadong for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of the Sinclair at a price of 32 pence per Sinclair Share subject to the satisfaction of certain pre-conditions.

On 18 September 2018, it was confirmed that these pre-conditions had been satisfied and, accordingly, on that date, the Sinclair Independent Directors and Huadong announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer by Huadong to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Sinclair, such acquisition to be implemented by means of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act (the "Scheme").  

A scheme document sent or otherwise made available to shareholders of Sinclair (the "Scheme Document"), containing further information on the Scheme, was published on 1 October 2018. The Scheme and its implementation were approved on 24 October 2018 at the Court Meeting and the General Meeting.

The Board of Sinclair is pleased to announce that, at a hearing held earlier today, the Scheme was sanctioned by the Court.

The Scheme remains subject to the delivery to the Registrar of Companies of the Court Order made at the Court Hearing to sanction the Scheme. The Scheme is expected to become effective on 5 November 2018 (the "Effective Date") and a further announcement will be made at that time.

The last day and time for dealings in, and for registrations of transfers of, Sinclair Shares is 2 November 2018 at 6.00 p.m. (the "Scheme Record Time"), and trading in the Sinclair Shares on AIM will be suspended with effect from 7.30 a.m. on 5 November 2018.

It is expected that, subject to the Scheme becoming effective, the cancellation of the admission to trading of the Sinclair Shares on AIM will take place at 7.00 a.m. on 6 November 2018.

By 7.00 a.m. on the Business Day following the Effective Date, share certificates in respect of Sinclair Shares will cease to be valid and entitlements to Sinclair Shares held within the CREST system will be cancelled.

Capitalised terms in this announcement ("Announcement"), unless otherwise defined, have the same meanings as set out in the Scheme Document.

Enquiries:

Rothschild, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively for Sinclair and for no-one else in connection with the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not be responsible to any person other than Sinclair for providing the protections afforded to clients of Rothschild, nor for providing advice in relation to the matters referred to herein. Neither Rothschild nor any of its affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Rothschild in connection with the matters referred to in this Announcement, or otherwise.

Peel Hunt, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively for Sinclair and for no-one else in connection with the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not be responsible to any person other than Sinclair for providing the protections afforded to clients of Peel Hunt, nor for providing advice in relation to the matters referred to herein. Neither Peel Hunt nor any of its affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Peel Hunt in connection with the matters referred to in this Announcement, or otherwise.

Piper Jaffray, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively for Huadong and for no-one else in connection with the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not be responsible to any person other than Huadong for providing the protections afforded to clients of Piper Jaffray, nor for providing advice in relation to the matters referred to herein. Neither Piper Jaffray nor any of its affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Piper Jaffray in connection with the matters referred to in this Announcement, or otherwise.

Jones Day is retained as legal adviser to Huadong.

Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP is retained as legal adviser to Sinclair.

IMPORTANT NOTES

This Announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute, or form part of, any offer or invitation to sell or purchase any securities, or the solicitation of any offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of any securities, or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, pursuant to the Acquisition or otherwise nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities of Sinclair in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. The Acquisition will be effected solely through the Scheme Document (or, if the Acquisition is implemented by way of a Contractual Offer, the offer document) which will contain the full terms and conditions of the Acquisition. Any vote, decision in respect of, or other response to, the Scheme (or the Contractual Offer, if applicable) should be made only on the basis of the information contained in the Scheme Document (or, if applicable, the offer document). Each Sinclair Shareholder is urged to consult its independent professional adviser immediately regarding the tax consequences of the Acquisition applicable to them.

Overseas jurisdictions

The release, publication or distribution of this Announcement in jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and/or regulation and therefore any persons who are subject to the laws and regulations of any jurisdiction other than the United Kingdom should inform themselves about, and observe, any applicable legal or regulatory requirements. In particular, the ability of persons who are not resident in the United Kingdom to vote their Sinclair Shares with respect to the Scheme at the Court Meeting, or to appoint another person as proxy to vote at the Court Meeting on their behalf, may be affected by the laws of the relevant jurisdictions in which they are located. Any failure to comply with the applicable requirements may constitute a violation of the laws and/or regulations of any such jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the companies and persons involved in the Acquisition, disclaim any responsibility or liability for the violation of such restrictions by any person.

The availability of the Acquisition to persons who are not resident in the United Kingdom may be restricted by the laws and/or regulations of the relevant jurisdictions in which they are located. The Acquisition will not be made available, directly or indirectly, in, into or from any jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws in that jurisdiction. Any persons who are subject to the laws and regulations of any jurisdiction other than the United Kingdom should inform themselves about, and observe, any applicable requirements. Any failure to comply with the applicable requirements may constitute a violation of the laws and/or regulations of any such jurisdiction. Further details in relation to Overseas Shareholders will be contained in the Scheme Document.

This Announcement has been prepared pursuant to and for the purpose of complying with the laws of England and Wales, the AIM Rules, the Code and the Rules of the London Stock Exchange and the information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if this Announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws of jurisdictions outside of England and Wales.

Copies of this Announcement and formal documentation relating to the Acquisition will not be, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sent in, into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction or any jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws of that jurisdiction and persons receiving such documents (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must not mail or otherwise forward, distribute or send them in or into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction. Doing so may render invalid any related purported vote in respect of the Acquisition. If the Offer is implemented by way of a Contractual Offer (unless otherwise permitted by applicable law or regulation), the Contractual Offer may not be made, directly or indirectly, in or into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction.

The Acquisition relates to the shares of an English company and it is proposed to be made by means of a scheme of arrangement provided for under the laws of England and Wales. The Scheme will relate to the shares of an English company that is a "foreign private issuer" as defined under Rule 3b-4 under the US Exchange Act. A transaction effected by means of a scheme of arrangement is not subject to the shareholder vote, proxy solicitation and tender offer rules under the US Exchange Act. Accordingly, the Scheme will be subject to the disclosure requirements and practices applicable in the UK to schemes of arrangement, which differ from the disclosure requirements and practices of US shareholder vote, proxy solicitation and tender offer rules. Financial information included in the relevant documentation will have been prepared in accordance with accounting standards applicable in the UK and may not be comparable to the financial statements of US companies.

However, if Huadong were to elect to implement the Acquisition by means of a Contractual Offer, such Contractual Offer will be made in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including Section 14(e) of the US Exchange Act and Regulation 14E thereunder. Such Contractual Offer would be made in the US by Huadong and no one else.

In accordance with normal UK practice, Huadong or its nominees, or its brokers (acting as agents), may from time to time make certain purchases of, or arrangements to purchase, Sinclair shares, other than pursuant to the Acquisition, until the date on which the Scheme (or Contractual Offer, if applicable) becomes Effective, lapses or is otherwise withdrawn. These purchases may occur either in the open market at prevailing prices or in private transactions at negotiated prices. Any information about such purchases will be disclosed as required in the UK, will be reported to a Regulatory Information Service and will be available on the London Stock Exchange website at www.londonstockexchange.com.

Please be aware that addresses, electronic addresses and certain other information provided by Sinclair Shareholders, persons with information rights and other relevant persons for the receipt of communications from Sinclair may be provided to Huadong during the Offer Period (as required under Section 4 of Appendix 4 of the Code) to comply with Rule 2.11(c) of the Code.

Publication on website

Pursuant to Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this Announcement and other documents in connection with the Acquisition will, subject to certain restrictions, be available for inspection on Huadong's website at http://www.eastchinapharm.com/En/News/Sinclair_Notice and by Sinclair on its website at https://www.sinclairpharma.com/investors/recommended-offer-for-the-company no later than 12.00 noon (London time) on the day following this Announcement. The contents of the websites referred to in this Announcement are not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this Announcement.

Requesting hard copy documents

Pursuant to Rule 30.3 of the Code, a person so entitled may request a copy of this Announcement and any information incorporated into it by reference to another source in hard copy form. A person may also request that all future documents, announcements and information to be sent to that person in relation to the Acquisition should be in hard copy form. For persons who receive a copy of this Announcement in electronic form or via a website notification, a hard copy of this Announcement will not be sent unless so requested from either Huadong by contacting Bo Chen at Huadong, telephone number +86 571 89903290 or Sinclair by contacting Andy Crane, telephone number +44 (0) 20 7467 6920.

Dealing disclosure requirements

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in one per cent. or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified.

An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10^th business day following the commencement of the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10^th business day following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of securities exchange offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure.

Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in one per cent. or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s), save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the business day following the date of the relevant dealing.

If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a securities exchange offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3 of the Code.

Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4 of the Code).

Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the Offer Period commenced and when any offeror was first identified. You should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on +44 (0)20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure.