Shearman & Sterling advised Bayerische Landesbank and DZ Bank as lenders on the financing of the acquisition of Ledlenser GmbH & Co KG (Ledlenser), a leading manufacturer of LED flashlights and headlamps. The indirect purchaser is AFINUM Achte Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG was advised by AFINUM Management GmbH, along with INVISION and the Management Team. The seller is the Leatherman Tool Group.
Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised BFF Banking Group on the establishment of its €1 billion Euro Medium Term Note Programme.
BFF Banking Group is the leading European player in the management and non-recourse factoring of receivables owed by public sector entities. It is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange and operates in Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Croatia.
Matheson advised Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch as Arranger and Lead Manager, in relation to the €138 million asset backed securities issued by Citizen Irish Auto Receivables Trust 2018 DAC in December 2018. The transaction represents the second public securitisation by First Citizen Finance DAC. The transaction is a 12 month revolving cash securitisation of car loans (hire purchase contracts and leases) extended to Irish borrowers by First Citizen Finance DAC. The Class A Notes were rated AAA / Aaa by S&P and Moody’s respectively.
Stephenson Harwood (Singapore) Alliance has advised KfW-IPEX Bank on a US$72 million loan agreement to Quantum Pacific Shipping (QPS) for the purchase and installation of scrubbers.
Backed by the Norwegian export credit guarantee agency GIEK, the facility will be used to acquire and install exhaust gas cleaning scrubbers from Clean Marine. It is the first scrubber financing that has been backed by a GIEK guarantee.
International law firm Ashurst advised the lenders on the financing of a captive 15.64 megawatt solar photovoltaic power project in Jordan (the Project) to be built and operated by a subsidiary wholly-owned by Adenium Energy Capital Ltd.
The plant will be constructed in Rashidiya, which is situated 4 kms from Tafila in Jordan. The electricity generated will be used to power a cement plant adjacent to the site under an energy savings contract and based on a net metering arrangement. This Project is one of the very few private offtaker transactions in the Middle East.
Clifford Chance's Prague office has advised Swiss Life Select International Holding AG on the acquisition of Fincentrum, one of the top three independent financial advisory consultants in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The acquisition of Fincentrum makes Swiss Life the leader in the independent financial advisory business in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed. The Fincentrum group was established in 2000 and has over 2,500 independent financial advisors in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
International law firm Trowers & Hamlins has advised Legal & General on the successful registration of Legal & General Affordable Homes with the Regulator of Social Housing.
As well as advising on the regulatory aspects of the new provider, the firm has been advising Legal & General on the operational set up of their Affordable Homes division.
Legal & General plans for the new company to be a leading private affordable housing provider in the UK, using equity funding to deliver 3,000 homes per year within the next four years.
Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised Danish export credit agency (“ECA”) EKF Danmarks Eksportkredit (“EKF”) on its provision of guarantees to commercial and institutional lenders on a £3.5bn+ multi-tranche financing package to Global Infrastructure Partners (“GIP”) for the acquisition of a 50% stake in Ørsted’s 1.2 GW Hornsea One offshore windfarm.
Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised HSH Nordbank AG (“HSH Nordbank”) on the financing of the “Odin” wind farm in Sweden.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised HSH Nordbank AG on the successful completion of its privatization process. The successful switch from public to exclusively private shareholders is new territory in the German banking sector.
Subject to the usual committee appraisals and after entry in the commercial register, the bank is expected to trade under the name of Hamburg Commercial Bank AG next February.