Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised the bank syndicate led by Crédit Agricole, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, as Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners, on Altran’s €750 million capital increase with preferential subscription rights, with which it will refinance the acquisition of Aricent.

The acquisition, which closed on March 20, 2018, enables Altran to become the undisputed global leader in the engineering and research & development services.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised the bank syndicate led by BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole CIB, as Global Coordinators and Joint Lead Managers, and ABN AMRO, ING, MUFG and Société Générale CIB, as Joint Lead Managers, on Euronext’s inaugural €500 million offering of 1% notes due 2025.

The bonds were admitted to trading on the regulated market of Euronext Dublin.

Euronext is the main stock exchange in Europe with more than 1,300 issuers. It will use the proceeds of the bonds issue to refinance its acquisition of the Irish Stock Exchange.

International law firm Simmons & Simmons has advised on the AIM placing and subscription completed on 17 April 2018 by NetScientific plc, the transatlantic healthcare IP commercialisation group.

The team advised the nominated adviser and broker Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited and placing agent Liberum on the placing and subscription of 9,523,809 new ordinary shares at 52.5 pence per share, raising a total of £5m for NetScientific (before expenses).

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) advised Cinda International Capital Limited as the sole sponsor and the underwriters as the Hong Kong counsel on the initial public offering (IPO) of Bao Shen Holdings Limited (Bao Shen, Stock Code: 8151) on the GEM of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong by way of share offer.

Listed on 23 April 2018, the IPO comprised a share offer of a total of 105 million shares. Priced at HK$0.48 per share, the gross proceeds from the share offer was approximately HK$50.4 million.

International law firm Clifford Chance has advised Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) on the subscription of non-voting class shares in JX Metals Deutschland GmbH (JXMD), a wholly owned company of JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation, with amounting up to EUR 85.6 million.

JXMD was established with the purpose of acquiring all shares in H.C. Starck Tantalum and Niobium GmbH, one of the world's leading suppliers of Tantalum and Niobium products (high-purity metal powders), which are widely used in the Japanese electronics industry.

Hogan Lovells has advised Banco do Brasil S.A., one of the largest financial institutions in Latin America, in its issuance of US$750 million of senior unsecured notes under its euro medium term note programme (EMTN). The transaction was priced on April 12th and settled on April 19th.

Gilbert + Tobin announced it has advised Goldman Sachs as arranger and underwriter of a senior term loan, and Westpac and CBA as super senior revolving credit facility lenders in relation to the Infigen Energy Group’s refinancing by way of a 5-year A$605 million syndicated facility agreement.

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised ING Bank (“ING”), as agent, security trustee and the syndicate of lenders on the US$252m financing of the world’s first ever LNG-powered aframax tankers for leading Russian shipowner Sovcomflot Group (“SCF”).

The six 114,000dwt, ice-class vessels are being built by Hyundai Samho, with two of the vessels to operate under time charter to Shell for up to ten years. Shell will also provide LNG fuel for all six tankers across north-west Europe and the Baltic.

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised German financial investor HQ Equita (“HQ Equita”) on the sale of MEN Holding GmbH (“MEN”) to DBAG Fund VII, advised by Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (“DBAG”). It has been agreed not to disclose the purchase price or any further details of the contractual agreements.

CMS* has advised ING, one of its key clients, in connection with a bilateral $30 million revolving facilities to Astarta group for their export operations. Astarta is one of the leaders in sugar and agricultural production and one of the biggest industrial milk producers in Ukraine ensuring its efficiency through the use of the best high technologies. The financing included $25 million pre-export revolving loan facility and $5 million multicurrency uncommitted guarantee/ letter of credit issuances revolving credit facility, both extended for a three years term.