Slaughter and May advised INEOS in relation to its ethane supply contracts with Shell and Exxon. The long-term sale and purchase agreements commence in 2017 and will allow the Fife Ethyene Plant at Mossmoran to receive US ethane from shale gas via INEOS' new import terminal at Grangemouth. The deal provides an additional source of feedstock to complement supplies from North Sea natural gas field.

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Financing: Andrew Johnson (partner), Ed Peacock (associate).

Norton Rose Fulbright has advised on the start-up of Probitas Syndicate 1492 at Lloyd’s, the world’s specialist insurance market.

Lloyd’s Franchise Board has approved for Probitas 1492 Syndicate to commence underwriting on October 5, 2015 under the management of Capita Managing Agency on a turn-key arrangement basis.

The Norton Rose Fulbright team in London advising on the start-up was led by partner David Whear and included associates Rebecca Goldie and Kate Luton.

Linklaters advises the owners of HSH Nordbank AG, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the German Land of Schleswig-Holstein in the state aid procedure of the European Commission. Today, the German Länder agreed with the European Commission on the key terms for a final approval to re-increase the risk shield to 10 billion euros. The open state aid procedure can thus be finalised after intensive negotiations.

DLA Piper has advised EWE-Verband on an exchange of shares with EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG. EWE AG is to sell its 74.2 per cent shareholding in VNG-Verbundnetz Gas Aktiengesellschaft with a book profit to EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg. This transaction is part of a contract concluded between EWE AG, its municipal shareholders and EnBW AG. A further agreement within this contractual arrangement is that EnBW AG will divest itself of its 26 per cent EWE shareholding over a period of time.

Milan, October 12th, 2015. NCTM advised Triboo Digitale in the establishment of Bootique, resulting from the union of Triboo Digitale Performance Marketing Unit and Brands Zodiak Active Division (De Agostini Group).

BLM, the UK and Ireland’s leading legal insurance and risk specialist has assisted in establishing and developing Flood Re, a ‘world first’ organisation for the insurance market. Flood Re is a pooled insurance system which will allow even the highest risk homes to insure against floods.

Hornbach Holding AG’s legal form was changed into a partnership limited by shares (Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien - KGaA). The change was approved by the company’s shareholders at this year’s Annual General Meeting on 9 July 2015 and at the separate meeting of preference shareholders held on 10 July 2015 in Landau (Pfalz). 

Specialist lawyers at Irwin Mitchell’s Birmingham and Sheffield offices have advised on the conversion of three West Midlands schools to academy status.

The Bromley-Pensnett Primary School in Dudley, Jervoise School in Weoley Castle and Wychall Primary School in Northfield have all joined the drb Ignite Multi Academy Trust.

Based in the West Midlands, drb supports a range of educational settings from nursery, primary, secondary and special schools, with its expertise covering matters from consultancy, school improvement, training to strategic planning.

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, a leading international law firm to global corporations and financial institutions, advised Obi Worldphone in connection with the development of its latest smartphone, including support from Generali Group. Global insurance giant, Generali, co-invested in Obi with a venture capital fund consistent with the group’s approach to invest in innovative start-ups.

With the legal advice of Noerr, the parent company of the AURELIUS Group has changed its legal form. Aurelius AG will in future operate as a German partnership limited by shares (AURELIUS SE & Co. KGaA).

The transformation is completed upon entry in the German Commercial Register effective 1 October 2015. The shareholders of the company approved the proposed change of form at the ordinary shareholders’ meeting on 15 June 2015.