Awarded ‘Polish Transaction of the Year’ by Rzeczpospolita

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has been recognised for its work on the refinancing of Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. and Polkomtel Sp. z o.o.’s existing debt and the financing of working capital requirements, worth PLN 12.5bn (approximately €3bn). The accolade was awarded by Polish national daily paper, Rzeczpospolita. The ceremony took place on April, 18 2016.

Linklaters has advised Cerberus European Residential Holdings and FirstKey Mortgage, LLC on the £6.1 billion securitisation of a portfolio of UK residential mortgage loans, the largest transaction of its kind since the global financial crisis.

The bonds are backed by a pool of mortgages from the legacy book of NRAM, the former Northern Rock mortgage business which was nationalised in 2008, and acquired by Cerberus in November 2015. Linklaters advised Cerberus on the acquisition of NRAM and its £13 billion loan portfolio.

Stibbe acted as counsel to Deutsche Bank as lender on the acquisition by MCAP Global Finance ("MCAP"), a London subsidiary of New York-based Marathon Asset Management, of a 19-property portfolio (the "Phoenix" portfolio) from a Dutch fund managed by Bouwinvest Real Estate Investment Management.

Furthermore, Stibbe acted as counsel to Deutsche Bank as lender on the acquisition by MCAP of a 14-property portfolio (the "Maxima" portfolio) from Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse sold the assets on behalf of two of its open-ended property funds, CS Euroreal and CS Property Dynamic.

McCann FitzGerald advised BofA Merrill Lynch and Goodbody (Joint Global Co-ordinators and Joint Bookrunners) and Davy (Co-Bookrunner) in connection with the firm placing and placing and open offer of approximately 157.6 million new ordinary shares in Cairn Homes plc, raising gross proceeds of approximately €176.5 million. The new shares were admitted to listing on the standard listing segment of the Official List of the FCA and to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange plc on 19 April 2016.

Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier advises Fimalac on the simplified tender offer initiated on its own shares under its share repurchase program. The offer is made for a maximum number of shares representing up to 6.3% of Fimalac’s share capital, for a maximum amount of approximately €171 million. The offer, which was cleared by the Autorité des marchés financiers on 12 April 2016, will be open from 15 April to 12 May 2016.

Watson Farley Williams (“WFW”) has advised HSH Nordbank AG (“HSH Nordbank”) on the financing of the Danish Vandel solar park. HSH Nordbank provided a long-term financing of €64.5 m to developer European Energy A/S (“European Energy”) for Vandel, which is located in the community of Vandel/Billund in Denmark.

The park consists of 126 solar PV installations and has been built by European Energy in 2015 with a total capacity of 50.4 MW.

On March 22, 2016, UBS Group Funding (Jersey) Limited established its USD 30 billion Senior Debt Programme ("Programme"), fully and unconditionally guaranteed by UBS Group AG ("UBSG"). The Programme is a global programme allowing for the issuance of notes both on a Rule 144A/RegS basis and on a RegS only basis.

VAT Group AG, a global market leader for high-end vacuum valves, closed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on 18 April 2016. The shares of VAT Group AG were first listed and traded on SIX Swiss Exchange on 14 April 2016.

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (“CACIB”), SACE (CDP Group) and a syndicate of banks in relation to an ECA-backed financing of a 754 passenger cruise vessel to be built by the Italian shipyard Fincantieri S.p.A (the “Vessel”) and to be purchased by Explorer II New Build LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NCL Corporation Ltd.