Sheffield-based engineering company Samuel Hodge has secured a multi-million pound refinancing deal through its new banking partner, Barclays.

Founded in 1897 with its origins in ship repairing and machined tool rebuilding, Samuel Hodge Group is a privately owned British group of engineering companies, with a long history of supplying quality products world-wide.

Employing 180 people, the group has an annual turnover of £23m and, in addition to its head office in Sheffield, it has sites across the UK in West Thurrock, Harlow, Wrexham and Hull.

White & Case LLP has advised Banca IMI S.p.A. and UniCredit S.p.A., as dealers, and ICCREA Banca and Method Investment as co-dealers, on the issuance by the Republic of Italy of approximately €10.76 billion eight-year BTP Italia bonds that are linked to Italian inflation.

The offering was carried out over two separate periods. The first is targeted at retail investors and the second is focused on institutional investors.

Norton Rose Fulbright has advised its client ADLER Real Estate AG (“ADLER Real Estate”) on the issuance of a corporate bond with a nominal value of EUR 300 million. The New York law governed bond has a maturity of five years and a coupon of 4.75 percent at an issue price of 98.9059%. The proceeds will be used primarily to finance the cash component of ADLER Real Estate’s public takeover bid for Berlin-based WESTGRUND AG. Through this acquisition ADLER would become the fifth largest publicly listed residential real estate company in Germany.

Hogan Lovells has advised FMS Wertmanagement AöR (FMS-WM) and DEPFA Bank plc. (DEPFA) in connection with the tender offer by FMS-WM and the consent solicitation by DEPFA regarding certain preferred securities guaranteed by DEPFA with a total nominal amount (liquidation preference) of EUR 1,200,000,000. The tender offer by FMS-WM and the consent solicitation by DEPFA have been launched on 20 April 2015.

Blackstone and the Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (“FROB”) have subscribed to the bonds issued by FTA2015, an asset-backed securitization fund

Catalunya Banc has sold a €6.5-billion loan portfolio to American investment group Blackstone and FROB via the asset-backed securitization fund FTA2015. According to a communication by the bank to the National Markets and Competition Commission (“CNMV”), the transaction was closed at €4.123 billion, with Blackstone paying out €3.598 billion and FROB €524 billion.

Pasta Zara S.p.A., the leading company in the export of pasta Made in Italy, with the assistance of Finanziaria Internazionale (Finint), has issued a bond pursuant to the recently enacted legislation on “Mini-bonds” for an amount of €5 million. The bond was admitted to trading on the Extramot PRO segment of the Italian Stock Exchange.

On April 6, 2015, Nantong State-owned Assets Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. gained approval from National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors for the issuance of RMB500mln five-year-term private placement notes (“PPNs”).

PPN is a debt financing instrument offered privately to the interbank markets. It is an important channel for direct financing.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Suez Environnement on the issue of €500 million perpetual subordinated bonds. The bonds, which were issued on March 30, 2015 and are listed on the regulated market of Euronext Paris, have a first repayment option after seven years and pay an annual coupon of 2.5 percent until this date, resettable every five years after the first call date. They will rank junior to all senior debt and, in accordance with IFRS, be accounted as 100 percent equity, and as 50 percent equity by ratings agency Moody's.

Clifford Chance has advised GTECH S.p.A (GTECH), the Italian-based lottery, gaming and sports betting group, on the successful completion of its cross-border merger as part of the US$7.6 billion transaction to acquire International Game Technology (IGT), the Las Vegas gaming machine maker.

Leading international law firm Watson Farley & Williams (”WFW“) has advised HSH Nordbank, UniCredit Bank, Norddeutsche Landesbank and DNB Bank on the refinancing of a number of loans to the Rickmers Group totaling US$1.385 billion.

The WFW team advised the banks, which we regularly support on maritime and other financing transactions, on the structuring, negotiations and documentation of the refinancing.

Hamburg-based Rickmers Group is an international provider of maritime services, vessel owner and ocean carrier.