Dentons’ Real Estate team acted as legal counsel to Starwood Capital Group, a leading global private investment firm, on its first investment in Krakow, Poland’s second largest city - the acquisition of Quattro Business Park from Grupa Buma, a local Polish developer.
Axel Springer and US growth investor General Atlantic have reached a binding agreement on increasing Axel Springer's share in Axel Springer Digital Classifieds GmbH from 70% to 85% with the option to purchase the remaining 15% share. Axel Springer Digital Classifieds GmbH is a strategic partnership in which Axel Springer SE currently holds a participation of 70% and General Atlantic currently holds a participation of 30%.
Dechert LLP advised European private equity investor Gimv NV (Gimv) on its investment in Mackevision Medien Design GmbH (Mackevision). Following the transaction, Gimv now holds more than a 50% majority stake in Mackevision. Mackevision’s management also remains a significant shareholder. The proceeds will be used for further expansion of the product portfolio and securing Mackevision’s future growth.
Gimv is a European investment company listed on NYSE Euronext Brussels. The company manages investments of some 1.8 billion euros in 60 portfolio companies.
Weil advised InfraRed Capital Partners, the global investment manager focused on real estate and infrastructure, on the raising of its latest real estate fund, InfraRed Active Fund III, with total equity commitments of £475m. This exceeded the £400m target and was oversubscribed at final closing, reflecting the attraction of InfraRed’s well-established platform and strong track record in value-add property investment. With the associated leverage envisaged for its strategy, Active Fund III has an investment capacity of around £1bn.
Arendt & Medernach’s teams in Luxembourg and Hong Kong have advised ICBC (Europe) S.A. throughout the process leading up to the approval by the Luxembourg regulator (the “CSSF”) of their first Luxembourg R-QFII UCITS.
It is the first time a Chinese bank has tapped the European investment fund industry by setting up a proprietary UCITS structure, which will help the group to position itself on Europe’s private banking and asset management markets.
Olswang has advised Grabyo, the clip sharing service, and its founder, Will Neale, on a $2m equity investment from an array of major sports stars. The investors and global ambassadors include Premier League Football stars Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie, New York Red Bulls star Thierry Henry and current NBA champion Tony Parker.
White & Case LLP has advised leading European private equity group EQT on the SEK 9.7 billion (around £820 million) tender offer for all of the shares in Sanitec by Geberit AG.
Semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies AG has acquired a 9.4% stake in listed PCB manufacturer Schweizer Electronic AG. It published a corresponding ad hoc notice today. Working with Schweizer Electronic, Infineon intends to develop technologies for integration of power semiconductors into PCBs, focusing on automotive and industrial applications.
Simmons & Simmons has advised Cheyne Capital on the launch of the Cheyne Social Property Impact Fund.
The Cheyne Social Property Impact Fund, seeded by investors including Big Society Capital, is seeking commitments of £300 million (c. $475 million US dollars) for investment in UK property so as to increase the capacity of social sector organisations and other related bodies to deliver front line services.
Clifford Chance is advising Santander with its strategic investment in world leading mobile money business, Monitise PLC.
Santander has subscribed for 5.5% of the existing issued share capital of Monitise, alongside other investors, in an aggregate share issue by Monitise of 8.2% of its existing share capital. In connection with its subscription, Santander and Telefonica (another strategic investor participating in the transaction) will have the right to jointly nominate a single Non-Executive Director to be appointed by the Monitise Board.