Shearman & Sterling represented the underwriters (led by HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.) in connection with HSBC Holdings plc’s offering of US$2 billion aggregate principal amount of 4.250% subordinated notes due 2024 and US$1.5 billion aggregate principal amount of 5.250% subordinated notes due 2044. The subordinated notes qualify as Tier 2 capital under Basel III and are subject to the exercise of "bail-in" powers by UK regulatory authorities.

After a more than two decades hiatus from the US bond market, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) has sold $5.5 billion of bonds in a five-part offering of fixed- and floating-rate notes. The company will use the proceeds to finance capital spending, for acquisitions and to refinance commercial paper borrowings.

Latham & Watkins LLP advised the underwriters in this transaction with a corporate deal team led by New York partner Marc Jaffe and Washington D.C. partner Rachel Sheridan, with associates Brandon Bortner and John Kim.

Davis Polk is advising MSCI Inc. in connection with the $364 million sale of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of MSCI, to Vestar Capital Partners. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close within the next three months.

DLA Piper has successfully acted for ING Bank in litigation proceedings initiated by, amongst others, Stichting Restschuld Eerlijk Delen - the foundation responsible for splitting the difference of residual debt.

Clifford Chance has advised a consortium of investors including Credit Suisse, New World, Baosteel and CCB International on their US$151 million investment in ChongHou Energy Resources Limited, the holding company of Qipanjing Mining Company Limited which owns and operates a number of coking coal mines in Inner Mongolia. Coking coal is used in the production of steel and is in high demand in China.

This is one of the largest investments in the mining sector in China this past year.

Simmons & Simmons is advising NM Rothschild & Sons Limited as sponsor and Investec Bank plc and Liberum Capital Limited as joint bookrunners on a £75.1m firm placing and placing and open offer by Costain Group plc (Costain), a leading tier one engineering solutions provider to the UK infrastructure, energy and water markets. The purpose of the capital raising is to enable Costain to take greater advantage of the opportunities in its chosen markets and thereby accelerate the group's medium and long term growth prospects.

Simmons & Simmons advised Liberum Capital Limited and Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited as Joint Bookrunners on the placing by Sirius Minerals Plc (Sirius) of new ordinary shares and warrants in respect of new ordinary shares. The placing raised gross proceeds of £43m. Sirius is a potash development company quoted on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market (AIM) and is primarily focused on the development of the world’s largest and highest grade polyhalite deposit in the United Kingdom.

Simmons & Simmons is advising JP Morgan Cazenove and Numis Securities as joint sponsors on the Class 1 acquisition by Interserve of the facilities service business of Rentokil Initial plc, for a cash consideration of £250m (Acquisition). The acquisition is being part financed by a placing of new shares representing up to 9.9% of the issued share capital of Interserve to raise approximately £78m (Placing). Simmons & Simmons are also advising JP Morgan Cazenove and Numis Securities as joint bookrunners on the Placing.

Simmons & Simmons is advising JP Morgan Cazenove, Numis Securities and Jefferies on a £100m firm placing and placing and open offer by The UNITE Group plc, the UK's leading developer and manager of student accommodation. Half of the net proceeds of the firm Placing and Placing and Open Offer will be used to fund an acceleration of the group's highly targeted regional development programme in select key university towns and cities, taking advantage of cyclically low development costs.

Global legal practice Norton Rose Fulbright has advised the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) on its record issuance of US$1.5 billion 1.8125 per cent Trust Certificates due 2019 (the Certificates) under its US$10 billion Trust Certificate Issuance Programme (the Programme).