Ashurst advised Aviva Investors on a £187 million long-term debt facility to Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited, and The Royal Bank of Scotland ("RBS") on a £30 million short-term revolving credit facility.
The facilities will fully refinance the short-term £200 million facility with RBS and Investec Bank, which closed on 22 January, 2016.
King & Wood Mallesons has advised London-based bar and restaurant group Drake & Morgan on the financing of the acquisition of Corney & Barrow Bars Limited.
Corney & Barrow Bars, owned by Corney & Barrow’s 230 year old wine merchant business, launched in 1983 as a City-based collection of premium wine bars. The group operates 11 bars – ten under the Corney & Barrow name and one as its flagship bar and restaurant, Devonshire Terrace.
Vienna, 23 September 2016 - OMV has signed an agreement selling a 49% minority stake of Gas Connect Austria (GCA) to a consortium of Allianz and Snam. Wolf Theiss advised Allianz throughout the entire transaction – including due diligence, contract negotiations and the signing, which took place on 22 September. Additionally, Wolf Theiss advised the entire consortium in aspects relating to acquisition finance.
OMV chose the consortium as the result of a bidding process that began in the first quarter of 2016.
Ashurst advised DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main (DZ Bank) and Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank (apoBank) in relation to financings for the DOREA Group, a portfolio company of Quadriga Capital Private Equity Fund IV L.P. The financing is intended for acquiring Meritus Seniorenzentren GmbH (Meritus) as well as refinancing the DOREA Group. The parties have agreed not to disclose the financing volume and the purchase price for Meritus. The company was sold by ANTARIS health care Holding GmbH.
Shearman & Sterling advised the lenders on the financing of the acquisition of Kimble Chase Life Science, one of the leading manufacturers of laboratory and scientific glassware, by Duran Group, a portfolio company of One Equity Partners. The transaction is subject to merger approval.
Global law firm DLA Piper has advised satellite communications provider SpeedCast International Limited (ASX:SDA) on the financing arrangements for its successful acquisition of WINS Limited.
The DLA Piper team was led by Finance & Projects partner Alex Regan, with assistance from senior associate Barbara Carroll and lawyer Rebecca Dang.
Alex Regan said: "This acquisition is a significant milestone for SpeedCast and we're delighted to have advised our client on this important part of their growth strategy in the key European market."
Ashurst advised a consortium of banks consisting of UniCredit, Commerzbank, ING and IKB Deutsche Industriebank on the financing of the acquisition of a majority participation in Universal-Investment. The purchaser is the British financial investor Montagu which acquired the shares in the fifth largest German fund provider from the private bank Berenberg in Hamburg and Bankhaus Lampe in Bielefeld. The parties have agreed to maintain confidentiality with respect to the purchase price and financing volume.
Ashurst advised DuMont Mediengruppe (DuMont) on the successful conclusion of a syndicated credit facility in a low three-digit million range. The loans, which are made available by a consortium led by UniCredit Luxembourg S.A., may be used to finance general corporate and working capital purposes as well as future acquisitions. The consortium includes Bayerische Landesbank, Commerzbank AG (also documentation agent), Deutsche Bank AG, Kreisparkasse Köln, Sparkasse KölnBonn and UniCredit Bank AG.
Ashurst has advised Ixom Pty Limited (Ixom) on its Australian syndicated facilities and the refinancing of its existing US Term Loan B financing.
Baker & McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise) advised Mizuho Bank, Ltd. on its JPY 1 trillion bridge loan to finance part of SoftBank Group's GBP 23.4 billion acquisition of ARM Holdings PLC (ARM), the largest cross-border acquisition ever by a Japanese company. The acquisition successfully closed on 5 September 2016, with ARM being delisted from the London Stock Exchange on 6 September 2016.