Withers KhattarWong represented Southeast Asia’s leading on-demand transportation and mobile payments platform Grab in its pilot project – GrabCycle, a marketplace app unifying four different mobility partners into a single app.

The Withers KhattarWong team, co-led by Singapore-based Corporate partners Farhana Siddiqui and Leong Chuo Ming, with the assistance of legal associate Chow Su Rin, represented Grab in setting the template for its partnership agreement with the other mobility partners.

CMS Belgium assisted Tessares, spin-off of Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) founded in March 2015, in the preparation of its EUR 3 million fundraising in order to further develop its activities. Proximus, Vives II and the SRIW participated in this fundraising.

Tessares is an innovative startup active in the deployment of software solutions improving the performance and the quality of Internet access thanks to a new internet protocol (Multipath TCP). Tessares is headquartered in Belgium with development and sales teams in Belgium and the UK.

Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Ansarada on its A$24 million Series A capital raise, led by Ellerston Capital together with other cornerstone investors Tempus Partners and Australian Ethical Investments.

Charles Russell Speechlys LLP has advised AIM-listed client, 1Statial PLC, in relation to its recent disposal of 80.1% of Enables IT Group Limited to Champall Consultancy Limited a company jointly owned by Michael Walliss, the Founder and Managing Director of Enables IT, with his wife.

Davis Polk is advising Tencent Holdings Limited in connection with its affiliate’s investment in N26 GmbH. The transaction is part of a $160 million Series C financing round that was co-led by Tencent and Allianz X. The funding represents the largest non-IPO equity financing round in the fintech industry in Germany to date.

Firm advises leading mobile operator on key strategic transaction.

Telenor has entered into an agreement to sell its assets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to PPF Group for €2.8 billion (NOK 27 billion) on an enterprise value basis.

Orrick advised Ascent Robotics Inc., a Tokyo-based company developing AI for self-driving vehicles, in raising JPY1.1 billion yen ($ 10 million) in a Series A round, led by SBI Investment’s AI and blockchain-focused fund.

Following this funding, Ascent Robotics will carry out substantial experiments of self-driving vehicles on public roads. The fund will also be used for recruiting prominent researchers and engineers and expanding their business hub overseas.

Our team was led by Hiroki Sugita, with the support from Sakon Kuramoto.

With Boris Dürr, M&A Partner at the Munich office, Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek advised CANCOM SE on the acquisition of UK-based Ocean Intelligent Communications Ltd. The company’s founders and parts of management have taken out a minority interest in the new holding company so that CANCOM will end up holding 82.1% in Ocean. Since Ocean is a UK company, Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek asked UK law firm Stevens & Bolton LLP to join in advising on the transaction.
 

Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Trinity Mirror plc on its acquisition of Northern & Shell’s publishing assets for a total purchase price of £126.7 million. Northern & Shell’s publishing assets are a significant force in the UK media sector, with a portfolio of newspapers and magazines which comprise four national newspaper titles (the Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday) and three celebrity magazines (OK!, New!, and Star) together with a 50% joint venture interest in the Irish Daily Star, outside the UK.

Osborne Clarke has advised The Players' Tribune (TPT) on its first step in the global expansion of its digital platform, assisting it with the launch of its first platform outside of the US.