Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Agricultural Bank of China Limited Hong Kong Branch, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, CCB International Capital Limited, China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited, Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited and J.P. Morgan Securities Plc as joint lead managers on the Regulation S international offering of US$400 million 6.00% senior notes due 2023 by China Taiping New Horizon Limited.

Herbert Smith Freehills Paris LLP has announced it has advised Tarkett, a world leader in flooring and sports surfaces, on the establishment of a syndicated loan of EUR 360 million arranged by Bank of America Securities Limited, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, Crédit Lyonnais, Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC France and J.P. Morgan Limited.

The Herbert Smith Freehills team advising Tarkett was made up of Louis de Longeaux (partner) and Gwenael Pain-Blavec (associate).

Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Virgin Australia Holdings Limited on its ground breaking US$797.2 million enhanced equipment note offering, the first of its kind in Asia Pacific. The offering closed on 22 October.

The enhanced equipment notes offering structure is a form of aircraft financing commonly used by U.S. airlines known as enhanced equipment trust certificates (EETC).

DLA Piper advised SNF Floerger, the world's leading producer of flocculants for water treatment, oil and gas applications (including enhanced oil recovery), and mineral extraction, on the refinancing by its holding company SPCM SA. This half a billion US$ transaction was successfully completed, notwithstanding volatile market conditions.

Paul Hastings has announced that it represented Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. (“Vista Land”), the largest homebuilder in the Philippines, on its issuance of US$100 million 6.75% guaranteed notes due 2018 (the “Notes”).

UBS AG, CLSA Limited and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited were Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners. BDO Capital &
Investment Corporation was the Domestic Lead Manager.

The proceeds of the Notes will be used to partially finance Vista Land’s capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes.

Ashurst has advised project company, AquaSure Pty Ltd in relation to the successful refinancing of its debt financing facilities.  The proceeds of the refinancing were applied to repay AquaSure's senior and mezzanine debt arrangements totalling approximately A$3.7bn originally borrowed to fund the construction of a desalination plant being developed by AquaSure under a PPP arrangement with the State of Victoria.

Slaughter and May, working as a team with Cleary, Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, advised Abbey National Treasury Services plc as issuer and Santander UK plc as guarantor, in relation to the re-registration of Abbey National Treasury Services plc’s US debt shelf facility with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the subsequent issuance of US$1 billion 3.050% senior debt securities under that facility.

CONTACTS

Financing: Miranda Leung (partner), Emily Stratten (associate)

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP advised Avanti Communications Group, a satellite data communications company, on its initial bond offering of US$370 million Senior Secured Notes due 2019.  Avanti will use the net proceeds of the offering primarily to refinance existing debt facilities.

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP has acted as US counsel to Canada’s export credit agency Export Development Canada in an SEC-registered US$1 billion offering of 1.500% bonds due 2018.  Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

Mayer Brown announced that it acted as special securities counsel for Plastipak Holdings, Inc., a leading global designer, manufacturer and supplier of plastic packaging containers and preforms, in connection with its offering of $375 million of 6.50% Senior Notes due 2021. The proceeds from the offering will be used to finance Plastipak’s tender offer for its outstanding Senior Notes due 2019 and general corporate purposes.

The Mayer Brown team included Corporate & Securities partners Paul Theiss (Chicago), John Berkery (New York) and Rory Cohen (New York).