King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has continued its advisory role with Hony Capital, supporting them on their strategic relationship agreement with Chinese energy company ENN to support the future growth of oil and gas producer Santos.

KWM originally advised Hony on a number of aspects relating to Hony’s holding in Santos and subsequently on the terms of the SRA.

The team was led by KWM Partner Shaun McRobert and Senior Associate David Jewkes.

International law firms Taylor Wessing and Latham & Watkins have advised Farfetch, the online community of the world’s best fashion boutiques and global brands, on the company’s strategic partnership with e-commerce giant JD.com. This deal will create a premiere platform for luxury e-commerce across China and provide a gateway to an $80bn market.

DLA Piper represented PECO Real Estate Partners in the formation of PREP Property Group, LLC (PREP), a strategic joint venture with Almanac Realty Investors, LLC. Almanac has committed to invest up to $300 million into PREP, a retail focused real estate company, to continue the investment strategies of PECO Real Estate Partners.

Based in Park City, Utah, PREP is a vertically-integrated real estate company that focuses on building retailer relationships through its experienced acquisitions, leasing, management, and development teams.

Finalcad entered with Eiffage into a strategic partnership with a view to accelerating the digital transformation of the building sites of the French construction and concessions group.

As part of an innovation process, the purpose of the partnership is to monitor and control each building site thanks to mobile apps accessible from a tablet and to computerize the various tasks concerned.

Schoenherr advised IULIUS Group ("IULIUS"), the developer and operator of the IULIUS network of shopping malls, and property investor Atterbury Europe B.V. ("Atterbury Europe") on the establishment of a joint financial fund with equal participation shares for the operation of four malls, the mixed-use urban regeneration project Openville Timisoara, and the future development of similar projects in Romania.

Ashurst advised Lendlease Italy S.r.l. in its joint venture with Milano Santa Giulia S.p.A. ("MSG"), a subsidiary of Risanamento S.p.A., in connection with the development of the south area, an area of 33,000 square metres within the larger Milan Santa Giulia project and adjacent to the Sky complex.

The development will be implemented through a proprietary company, whose share capital will be owned 50% by Lendlease and 50% by MSG.

The transaction also includes an option right for Lendlease to purchase the Sky complex.

Houthoff Buruma advised Stichting Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds voor de Bouwnijverheid ("BpfBOUW"), the fourth largest pension fund in the Netherlands with assets under management of approximately € 55 billion, on several legal matters concerning its relationship with APG. The advice pertained to, among other things, the legal documentation of the asset management, fund management and fiduciary and other advisory services provided by APG to BpfBOUW on an ongoing basis. The advice also covered the negotiations on a new Dutch law fiduciary management agreement with APG.

On 19 June, Swedish fintech leader Klarna was granted a banking licence by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.

Klarna was founded in 2005 in Stockholm and is now one of Europe's largest banks, providing easy to use payment solutions for 60 million consumers across 70.000 merchants in 18 markets. Klarna offers direct payments, pay after delivery options and instalment plans in a smooth one-click purchase experience that lets consumers pay as and when they prefer. Klarna is backed by investors such as Sequoia Capital, Bestseller, Atomico and General Atlantic.

Mannheimer Swartling advised Volvo Cars in the formation of a joint venture, Zenuity AB, together with Autoliv, to become the world leader in the development of software for autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance systems. It marks the first time a premium car maker has joined forces with a tier one supplier to develop leading advanced driver assist systems and autonomous driving technologies.

Volvo Cars was advised by Mannheimer Swartling in the transaction.

Client name
Celanese Corporation  - JV partner
Other parties involved
The Blackstone Group L.P.
Nature of transaction