On Wednesday 29 March, trading started in Biovica’s shares at Nasdaq First North in Stockholm.

Macfarlanes is pleased to announce that it has advised Alcentra, the alternative fixed income specialist investment firm within BNY Mellon Investment Management, on the successful fundraising of its second European direct lending fund.

The fundraising has brought recent commitments to €4.3bn across the fund and separately managed accounts. Alcentra's committed capital for the strategy now exceeds €5.7bn. Capital for the fund came from institutional investors across the globe including Europe, the United States and the Far East.

Nabarro's Corporate team is advising on a trio of fundraisings on the Main Market and AIM, with Main Market listed clients John Laing Infrastructure Fund and LondonMetric Property raising £120m and £95m respectively (before expenses). The team is also advising Allenby Capital and Dowgate Capital Stockbrokers on AIM-listed Franchise Brands' £28m reverse takeover of Metro Rod and associated £20m placing.

Aumann AG, one of the world's leading manufacturers of innovative special machines and automated production lines with a focus on electromobility, is planning to enter the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. McDermott accompanies Aumann AG as Issuer's Counsel. Berenberg and Citigroup serve as Joint Global Coordinators and Hauck & Aufhäuser as Joint Bookrunner. Read the full press release in German here.

Herbert Smith Freehills has advised a nine-bank syndicate on the US$285 million IPO on the Bombay Stock Exchange and Rule 144A/Regulation S global offering of Avenue Supermarts Limited (ASL), an Indian supermarket chain.

ASL is one of the largest and the most profitable food and daily essentials retailers in India, with 118 stores across 45 cities.

The bank syndicate was led by Kotak Mahindra Capital, and also comprised Axis Capital, Edelweiss, HDFC, ICICI Securities, Inga Capital, JM Financial, Motilal Oswal and SBI Capital.

Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Citigroup Global Markets Asia Limited and Macquarie Capital Limited as underwriters and joint sponsors of the IPO of Minsheng Education on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

The IPO raised HK$1.305 billion (US$168 million), with the listing on 22 March 2017.

Minsheng Education is one of China's top-ten private providers of higher education. It owns and operates four undergraduate and junior colleges in the country and has also invested in private education institutions in other Asian countries.

Shearman & Sterling advised Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL) in connection with its undertaking to subscribe to a share capital increase of €250 million in New AREVA Holding, a subsidiary of Areva SA, consolidating all assets relating to Areva’s nuclear fuel cycle activities. This investment would give JNFL an equity stake of 5% in New AREVA Holding. Japanese group Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) will also invest €250 million alongside JNFL.

Carl Zeiss Meditec AG has successfully placed 8,130,960 new shares (around 10 %) by way of an accelerated bookbuilding process with the exclusion of subscription rights with selected domestic and international institutional investors. The gross proceeds amounted to a total of around EUR 317 m.

The TecDAX-listed company Carl Zeiss Meditec AG is one of the world’s leading medical technology companies in the fields of ophthalmology and microsurgery.

Magseis ASA, listed at Oslo Axess, announced today the completion of a Private Placement of approximately NOK 340 million (USD 40 million). The private placement was executed after close of the market of the Oslo Stock Exchange yesterday. The Private Placement was significantly oversubscribed.

Clifford Chance advised the joint lead managers (Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. Hong Kong Branch, Barclays Bank PLC, BNP Paribas, China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, DBS Bank Ltd., Merrill Lynch International, Mizuho Securities Asia Limited, Morgan Stanley & Co.