Davis Polk acted as special product counsel for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated as representative of the initial purchasers in connection with a Rule 144A offering by Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc. of an aggregate principal amount of $200 million of 7.5% convertible senior notes due 2019, which included $25 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes issued pursuant to the exercise in full of the initial purchasers’ over-allotment option.  

Following the successful listings of Tsui Wah, Xiao Nan Guo and Hung Fook Tong, Deacons furthers its record of advising iconic Hong Kong F&B brands by acting for Fulum Group Holdings Limited in its Main Board IPO. This is set to launch on 4 November 2014 and expected to raise up to HK$539.5 million (subject to the exercise of over-allotment option).  

Fulum Group is one of the top three restaurant chains serving Chinese cuisine in Hong Kong and one of the top two restaurant chains serving Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong, based on 2013 sales revenue.

Trowers & Hamlins is delighted to have advised Affordable Housing Finance Plc (AHF), a subsidiary company of The Housing Finance Corporation (THFC), on its recent £198.5 million bond tap, which achieved a credit spread of 0.38% – nearly identical to the record-setting 0.37% attained in the original £208 million bond issued in May 2014.

At 3.30%, this tap represents by some distance the lowest long-term bond funding rate achieved for housing associations.

White & Case LLP has advised Autostrade per l’Italia S.p.A., as issuer, on the Italian and English law aspects of the establishment of its €7 billion Euro Medium Term Note Programme.

The Base Prospectus has been approved by the Central Bank of Ireland. Autostrade per L’Italia is a European leader among concessionaire for the construction and management of toll highways, with its 5,000km network located in Italy, Brazil, Chile, India and Poland.

Shearman & Sterling represented InRetail Consumer, a Peruvian trust, along with its subsidiaries, in connection with its issuance of S/.250 million aggregate principal amount of 6.8125% Senior Notes due 2021 in compliance with Regulation S under the US Securities Act.

In its latest large capital markets transaction in the energy sector, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP has represented SBM Offshore N.V. in the $450 million bond offering supporting the company’s natural gas production center deployed in the Deep Panuke natural gas field off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Beijing-headquartered smartphone maker Xiaomi has secured a USD1 billion loan from 29 banks with an aim to increase its international expansion. Allen & Overy is advising the borrower Xiaomi on this significant loan in the smartphone sector.

The syndicate of lenders to Xiaomi spreads across continents and includes a diverse mix of Chinese, European, North American and Latin American banks. The loan will be split evenly into two USD500 million tranches: a term loan and a revolving credit facility.

White & Case LLP represented Freeport LNG Expansion, L.P. (Freeport LNG) and its subsidiary FLNG Liquefaction, LLC (FLIQ1) in its recently signed $3.85 billion debt financing for the development of the first liquefaction train (Train 1) of Freeport LNG’s multi-train liquefaction and export facility at Quintana Island near Freeport, Texas.

NCTM Studio Legale Associato has assisted Banca IMI S.p.A., acting as global coordinator and bookrunner of a pool of banks consisting of Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A., Bayerische Landesbank–Filiale di Milano, Banca Carige S.p.A.

Simpson Thacher recently represented Rhino Bondco S.p.A, the holding company of Rhiag-Inter Auto Parts Italia S.p.A, in connection with its tap offering of €50 million aggregate principal amount of its existing 7.25% senior secured notes due 2020.

Rhiag-Inter Auto Parts Italia S.p.A is a European distributor of aftermarket spare parts for passenger cars and commercial vehicles in the independent aftermarket segment.