Ashurst is advising Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan on John Wood Group PLC's £2.3 billion proposed acquisition of Amec Foster Wheeler plc, in relation to which formal shareholder documents were published on 23 May. Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan are acting as financial advisers and FCA sponsors to John Wood Group in relation to the acquisition.

The Ashurst team is being led by corporate partners Tom Mercer and Dominic Ross, assisted by expertise counsel Caroline Chambers, and associates Kelly Trueman and Jake Hadfield.

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is advising Euronext in connection with the acquisition of a 90% interest in FastMatch, Inc. (“FastMatch”), a high-growth disruptive Electronic Communication Network company in the spot FX market, for an initial cash consideration of US$153m. The transaction, which is expected to close in Q3 2017, is subject to regulatory and competition approval.

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised Credit Agricole Asia Shipfinance Ltd. in respect of the structuring and financing of two Japanese operating leases (“JOLCOs”) with call options relating to two Hong Kong flagged oil tankers under a sale and leaseback transaction with a prominent Asian tanker owner.

The transaction was co-arranged by Springliner Ltd. and fully underwritten by Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and a group of Japanese investors.

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) acted for Minsheng Financial Leasing (MSFL) on its acquisition of four aircraft from China Development Bank Financial Leasing and refinancing of the acquisition with Crédit Agricole CIB, as mandated lead arranger, facility agent and security trustee and Korea Development Bank, as arranger.

The portfolio acquisition, with leases attached to an Indian airline, was completed in January 2017 whereas the refinancing completed in May 2017.

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) acted for Minsheng Financial Leasing (MSFL) on its acquisition of four aircraft from China Development Bank Financial Leasing and refinancing of the acquisition with Crédit Agricole CIB, as mandated lead arranger, facility agent and security trustee and Korea Development Bank, as arranger.

The portfolio acquisition, with leases attached to an Indian airline, was completed in January 2017 whereas the refinancing completed in May 2017.

BOCOM International Holdings Company Limited (BOCOM International, stock code: 3329), advised by King & Wood Mallesons (KWM), was successfully listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK). The basic issuance size was approximately 667 million shares, priced at HK$2.68 per share, raising approximately HK$1.68 billion.

Sidley is representing China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. as mandated lead arranger on an acquisition facility for a member of the Creat Group in connection with its all-cash offer for the voluntary takeover of Biotest AG, a German pharmaceutical company. Creat is a Chinese investment group that invests in healthcare and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, energy, finance and natural resources.

argenx SE ("argenx") announced the trading of the initial public offering (the "IPO") of a total of 6,744,750 American Depository Receipts ("ADSs") worth approximately USD 114.7 million on the NASDAQ Global Stock Market (including greenshoe). argenx has been listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange since June 2014. Each ADS represents the right to receive one underlying ordinary share, which ordinary share will be listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange.

Allen & Overy has advised the joint lead managers on the Reg S USD500 million high-yield bond offering by JSW Steel Limited. JSW Steel Limited is an Indian manufacturer of a diverse range of steel products with an export presence in more than 100 countries. The joint lead managers consisted of Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank AG, Singapore Branch and J.P. Morgan Securities plc.

Allen & Overy advised BNP Paribas, Citi, UBS, HSBC, Mandiri and Mizuho Securities as joint bookrunners on PT Saka Energi Indonesia (Saka)’s debut 144A/Reg S offering of USD625 million 4.45% senior notes due 2024. This is Saka’s first USD bond issue into the market.

Saka is an oil and gas exploration and production company and the upstream arm of the state-owned Perusahaan Gas Negara, Indonesia’s largest natural gas transportation and distribution company.