MILAN (June 30, 2017) -  International law firm McDermott Will & Emery advised JZ International, a pan-European investment fund focused on small and medium-sized companies, in its recent investment in a majority stake in a number of companies, namely Centro Servizi RAEE S.r.l. and, indirectly, in Relight S.r.l., Vallone-S.r.l., Vallone Logistica & Servizi S.r.l. and Fast.Est S.r.l. The investment is aimed at establishing a leading group at a national level in recycling of WEEE.

Hogan Lovells has advised the Single Resolution Board, the banking resolution authority of the Eurozone, with respect to the two Italian banks Banca Popolare di Vicenza S.p.A. and Veneto Banca S.p.A.

Geely Autogroup intends to strengthen its presence in Europe, and in Sweden. The establishment of CEVT AB and affiliated Geely businesses has remarkably contributed to a thriving automotive cluster at Lindholmen Science Park in Gothenburg that is a core for Geely’s future cutting edge technologies and design. The strategy going forward for Geely is to establish an even larger innovation capability in Gothenburg, through a new customized building that will house operations for CEVT AB, Geely Design Europe, LYNK & CO Marketing and Sales, and Geely Powertrain Engineering.

William Fry advised Chaucer in relation to the establishment and authorisation by the Central Bank of Ireland of Chaucer Insurance Company DAC (Chaucer Dublin) as a non-life insurance company.
 
William Fry has been working closely with Chaucer on this project and assisted, in particular, in its engagement with the Central Bank of Ireland.
 

On 2 June, on the sidelines of the 21st St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Government of Leningrad Region and joint stock company Knauf Petrobord, a member of the Knauf Group. The agreement includes an investment by Knauf of at least RUB 3.5 billion to renovate production facilities for cardboard facing over the period to 2020, and provision of investor support by the Government of Leningrad Region.

Herbert Smith Freehills has advised long-standing client Korea Gas on its participation in the US$11 billion Coral Floating LNG project in Mozambique.

KOGAS has a 10% interest in the project, which is led by Eni and also involves China National Petroleum Corporation, GALP (of Portugal) and ENH (of Mozambique).  The project marks a series of firsts:

* first floating LNG liquefaction project to be project-financed globally
* first floating LNG liquefaction project in Africa
* first LNG project for Mozambique

Osborne Clarke has advised Finnish burger chain Friends & Brgrs on the opening of its first German store. The company’s sixth restaurant will open in the Europa Passage shopping mall in central Hamburg in September. The chain already operates restaurants in Finland and Denmark. The new restaurant in Hamburg is an important step in the company’s strategy of establishing itself in major European cities.

QBE Insurance Group is one of the world's top 20 general insurance and reinsurance companies, with operations in all key insurance markets. QBE has decided to set up a new subsidiary in Belgium in order to centralise its European insurance and reinsurance activities post-Brexit.

Shoosmiths have advised luxury aparthotel brand, Roomzzz, on their expansion into Scotland with a brand-new aparthotel confirmed within the £1bn Edinburgh St James development, scheduled to open in 2021.

The new Roomzzz Edinburgh aparthotel will take prime position within the 1.7 million sq ft Edinburgh St James development in the heart of the city. With 73 luxury apartments planned, from smart studios to luxury penthouses, Roomzzz Edinburgh will give guests the luxury of a boutique hotel with the convenience and home comforts of a serviced apartment.

Through a series of transactions which were completed for the most part in early June, UBS AG and other UBS group companies transferred group shared services functions, which are mainly based in Switzerland, in the UK and the US, to UBS Business Solutions AG and other related service companies. UBS Business Solutions AG now operates as the group service company of UBS and is a wholly owned subsidiary of UBS Group AG. The implementation of UBS Business Solutions AG enables UBS to maintain operational continuity of critical services should a recovery or resolution occur.