Slaughter and May is advising Legal & General on the acquisition of the 52.1% interest in the CALA Homes group that it did not previously own from Patron Capital and the CALA management team.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (‘Freshfields’) has advised Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (‘BBVA’) on the series B round of financing of solarisBank AG, which is the first German fintech banking platform with a full banking license.
solarisBank has successfully secured €56.6m through its series B funding round. Participants from the round include current investors Arvato Financial Solutions and SBI Group, and renowned new global investors BBVA, Visa, Lakestar and ABN AMRO’s Digital Impact Fund (DIF).
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised InterContinental Hotels Group (‘IHG’) on a multi-faceted transaction involving the acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in the Regent Hotels and Resorts brand, management contracts for an existing portfolio of hotels, as well as the up-branding of the Intercontinental Hong Kong hotel to a Regent hotel.
Hogan Lovells has advised AXA Investment Managers on their c. £230 million acquisition of John Laing's 15% stake in Agility Trains West. Subject to anti-trust approval and senior lender consents, the deal is expected to complete later this year.
As part of the InterCity Express Programme (IEP) Phase 1, Agility Train West will finance, own, maintain and make available to the Great Western main line train operator a 57 strong fleet of InterCity Express Trains. The trains will be built and maintained through a sub-contract by Hitachi Rail Europe.
Osborne Clarke has advised South Korean biotech company, Cancer Rop Co. (formerly known as MG Med Inc.), on a $10M investment into Oxford Vacmedix UK Limited, a spin-out biopharmaceutical company from Oxford University.
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has advised Secure Income REIT plc on the acquisitions of two substantial portfolios of assets at a total cost of £436 million. The portfolios comprise a leisure portfolio including Manchester Arena, The Brewery at Chiswell Street, EC1 (the largest catered events space in the City of London), 18 freehold pubs and 17 Travelodge hotels, together with a hotels portfolio consisting of a further 59 Travelodge sites.
Clifford Chance advised ABN AMRO and Lakestar, the venture capital fund, on their investment in solarisBank AG in a financing round with a total volume of EUR 56.6 million. ABN AMRO and Lakestar invested alongside BBVA and VISA.
SolarisBank AG provides a B2C banking platform and is one of only a few German fintech companies with a full banking licence.
The transaction is the second-largest funding of a German fintech company to date.
Baker McKenzie advised global video game publisher and developer on transaction worth EUR 121 million
Swedish video game publisher and developer THQ Nordic acquired 100 percent of the shares in Austrian Koch Media GmbH. Koch Media is a leading, independent producer and marketer of digital entertainment products. The Tyrol-based company operates studios in Germany, Great Britain and the United States, as well as offices in many European countries.
Sidley represented Mid Europa Partners, the leading private equity investor in Central and South Eastern Europe, on its acquisition of a majority stake in the Serbian private healthcare provider, MediGroup. The seller, Blue Sea Capital, will retain a 45 percent stake in the company. The transaction is subject to customary competition clearance and is expected to close in Q2 2018.
Gilbert + Tobin today announced it is advising TSX/NASDAQ-listed The Stars Group Inc. on its acquisition of 80 percent of CrownBet and on CrownBet’s successful bid to acquire William Hill Australia.