Ashurst has acted as the Australian legal adviser to the AIA Group (AIA) in its agreement to acquire 100% of Commonwealth Bank of Australia's (CBA) life insurance businesses in Australia (CommInsure Life) and New Zealand (Sovereign) for A$3.8 billion, which after completion, will make AIA the largest provider of life insurance in Australia and New Zealand.
In one of the largest real estate transactions of the year in Frankfurt, a real estate fund managed by Amundi Real Estate has acquired the office portion of the Frankfurt project "Grand Central" with office space of 52,000 square meters. International law firm Clifford Chance advised Amundi Real Estate on this transaction.
Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised CSIC Leasing Co. Ltd (“CSIC Leasing”) on a US$65.5m sale and leaseback transaction with Eletson Corporation (“Eletson”), a Greek tanker owner and operator.
EIT lawyers and team-members Bangkok advised Constant Energy Management Services Ltd. (ConstantEnergy), a private renewable energy development company with assets in emerging markets, on the acquisition of equity interests in 17.5 MW of operating ground-mount solar photovoltaic assets in Thailand, together with a team of skilled developers and operators and a pipeline of additional projects under development, from Sonnedix Power Holdings Limited, an European-based solar power developer. The deal closed on September 19, 2017.
Ropes & Gray has advised long-term client Bain Capital on the sale by Toshiba Corp. of its semiconductor business to a group led by Bain Capital and includes Apple Inc., Seagate, Kingston, Hoya, Dell Technologies Inc. and SK Hynix. The transaction, which has announced today, is valued at two trillion yen (approximately $18 billion) – understood to be the largest Japanese deal since 2011, as well as both the largest private equity and leveraged finance deal ever seen in Asia.
Dentons has advised UK-based real estate investment company Aprirose Limited on its acquisition and the related financing of QHotels group from Bain Capital Credit and Canyon partners for £525 million, representing the largest hotel portfolio acquisition deal in the UK in 2017 so far.
The portfolio includes 26 four- and five-star regional hotels and golf courses across the UK, with a number of them located in cities including Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow. The hotels include the grade II-listed Midland Hotel in Manchester and The Queens Hotel in Leeds.
Irwin Mitchell Advises On £50m Transaction
Edge Real Estate Property Investments has purchased the Huron portfolio as part of a multi-million pound deal.
Funded by ICG Longbow and advised on by Irwin Mitchell’s Real Estate and Corporate teams, the deal sees a portfolio comprising a mix of properties, including nine DW Fitness Health & Leisure clubs across the UK, change hands for £50m.
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) acted for Tristan Capital Partners, independent London-based real estate investment management boutique, on its acquisition of a majority 90% interest in a Downing developed and managed 3,636 bed UK student housing portfolio comprising four operational assets (delivered in 2015 and 2016) and four assets in the course of construction (two delivered in September 2017 and the other two in 2018) for the sum of £439m.
The international law firm BEITEN BURKHARDT has advised the Swiss Lakeward Group on the acquisition of a real estate portfolio in the Berlin quarter named „Mittenmang“ from Groth Group. The transaction was notarised on 5 September of this year and shall be subsequently consummated. The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction volume.
Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised SMT Holding SA (“SMT”) on its acquisition through a new UK subsidiary, Services Machinery & Trucks Ltd, of Volvo Construction Equipment’s (“Volvo CE”) GB dealership, including all distribution rights for Volvo-branded construction equipment machines, parts and aftersales, its Cambridgeshire headquarters and most of its other assets, as well as the transfer of all its UK employees.