Bangkok lawyers recently advised client Banpu Public Company Limited (Banpu), Thailand’s biggest coal-mining company, in the acquisition, by its subsidiary Banpu Infinergy Company Limited (BPIN), of a significant minority convertible preference share interest in Sunseap Group Pte. Ltd. (Sunseap) for approximately SG$ 75 million (approximately US$ 55.7 million).
CMS has advised mBank on establishing the mAccelerator corporate venture capital fund which is considered the leading "fintech lab" programme in the CEE region, both in terms of the investment value and the number of potential users.
Funds of EUR 50 mln (over PLN 200 mln) are earmarked for the development of new technologies to help financial institutions meet the challenges of the fintech era. The fund intends to invest in young firms, which have the growth potential to become partners for global financial institutions.
CMS has advised Autolus Ltd, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of next-generation engineered T-cell therapies, on its $80m series C financing.
DLA Piper has advised China Eastern Airlines (CEA), one of the largest Chinese airlines operating domestic, regional and international routes, on its strategic investment in Euronext Paris listed Air France-KLM (AFK). Through this transaction, CEA and SkyTeam alliance member Delta Air Lines (Delta) have each acquired a 10 percent stake in AFK’s share capital within the framework of reserved capital increases. The transaction closed on 3 October 2017.
A cross-border team at Hogan Lovells advised a consortium comprising Macquarie's Infrastructure and Real Assets division ("MIRA") and Arran Investment Pte. Ltd. ("Arran"), an affiliate of GIC Pte. Ltd. on the acquisition of approximately 31.7 per cent of the total outstanding voting shares of Energy Development Corporation ("EDC") for approximately US$1.3 billion (the "Transaction").
EDC is a listed Philippine power company and the largest producer of geothermal energy in the Philippines.
With a team led by Dr. Jörg aus der Fünten, Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek advised Iris Capital on its investment in Open-Xchange, a German provider of open source e-mail, productivity, and software solutions. Iris Capital invested 21 million euros jointly with eCAPITAL and other investors. The capital will be used by Open-Xchange to expand in North and Latin America and Asia. In addition, the software company intends to add employees, further expanding the areas of development, engineering, and technical support.
Osborne Clarke has advised leading energy company innogy on its acquisition of Statkraft’s 50 per cent share in the offshore wind project Triton Knoll. With the acquisition of Statkraft’s share, innogy has become the project’s sole owner. Both sides have agreed to maintain confidentiality regarding the purchase price.
Reed Smith has advised private investment group Gerrard Consultancy Services in relation to a structured equity investment by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in a new retail and entertainment centre in the Croatian city of Pula. EBRD co-invested with the Enterprise Expansion Fund (ENEF).
EBRD and ENEF have become equity holders in EECF Istra S.a r.l., the ultimate owner of project company Trgovacki centar Max Stoja d.o.o., a limited liability company incorporated in Croatia.
White & Case LLP has advised Air France-KLM on the acquisition of ten percent equity stakes in its share capital by China Eastern Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
Simmons & Simmons advises GoCompare on investment in Souqalmal.com
GoCompare.com Group, which operates a leading UK price comparison website www.GoCompare.com, has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Dubai-based FinTech company Souqalmal.com (Souqalmal), the leading digital comparison business in the Middle East.