Taylor Wessing has advised Tritax Big Box REIT plc on the acquisitions of Baljean Properties Limited and Ekistics Property 1 Unit Trust. Baljean Properties Limited is the holding company of a 900,000 sq.ft regional distribution centre in Castle Donington, Leicestershire, which was purpose built for Marks & Spencer. Tritax Big Box REIT plc paid a consideration of £82.6m. A consideration of £48.8m was paid for Ekistics Property 1 Unit Trust, the holding vehicle of a 585,000 sq.ft warehouse in Sherburn-in-Elmet, Leeds, which is let to J Sainsbury.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is advising AXA in its agreement with Mercantil Colpatria to acquire a 51% stake in its insurance operations in Colombia (“Colpatria Seguros”) for a total consideration of COP 672 billion. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing is expected to take place in 2014.

Bingham, led by partner John Filippone, represented Corridor Capital in its recent acquisition of SCI Floor Covering, Inc. and the formation of Consolidated Flooring, LLC as a platform for the regional consolidation of the highly fragmented flooring market in the Midwest. SCI, headquartered in Southfield, Mich., is the leading distributor and installer of floor covering products for the repair, maintenance and restoration of commercial, healthcare, multi-family and insured residential properties in Michigan.

Bingham, led by partners Jim Loss and Todd Hentges, represented Platinum Equity in its recent acquisition of a 51 percent stake in Emerson Electric Co.’s embedded computing and power business (EC&P). The EC&P business, headquartered in Carlsbad, Calif., had revenue of approximately $1.4 billion worldwide in 2012 and required antitrust approvals in a variety of jurisdictions, including China, South Korea, Germany, Poland, the U.S. and the European Union.

Davis Polk is advising Shire plc in connection with its approximately $4.2 billion acquisition of ViroPharma Incorporated. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including the tender of a majority of the outstanding ViroPharma shares and the receipt of regulatory clearances. Pending antitrust authority clearances, it is anticipated that the transaction will close in the last quarter of 2013, the first quarter of 2014 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Mills & Reeve advised Ubisense Group plc on its acquisition of Japanese company Geoplan Interworks K.K. for a maximum consideration of 564.7m Japanese Yen (c.£3.4m).

The Mills & Reeve team led on the UK aspects of the transaction with support from their SCG Legal relationship firm in Japan, Matsuo & Kosugi, who advised on the transaction from a Japanese perspective.

DLA Piper has advised Israel Chemicals Limited (ICL), one of the world’s leading companies in the extraction and production of special chemicals in the fields of foods, agriculture and engineered materials, on the acquisition of the Hagesüd Group (“Hagesüd”), a German producer of high-quality spice blends and food additives for meat processing. Final conclusion of the transaction still requires the approval of the responsible cartel offices. After the takeover, Hagesüd will become part of the ICL Business Unit Food Specialties.

Simpson Thacher is representing Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE: TFX) in connection with its announced acquisition of VidaCare Corporation for $262.5 million, net of cash acquired. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Paul Hastings LLP is advising Filtration Group Corporation, a leading provider of filtration solutions, in the acquisition of Porex Corporation, a leading global developer, manufacturer and distributor of porous polymer products, from Los Angeles investment firm Aurora Capital Group.

Filtration Group is owned by Chicago based Madison Capital Partners. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Corporate partners Brian Richards, Tax partner Ziemowit Smulkowski and Finance partner Louis Hernandez led the Paul Hastings team.

Ashurst advised IT outsourcing and business process outsourcing service provider Xerox on the acquisition of all shares in Invoco Holding GmbH ('Invoco'). The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

Invoco Group employs around 1,800 staff in ten client service centres in Berlin, Göttingen, Halle, Hamburg, Kassel, Kiel, Lübeck, Magdeburg, Schwerin and Wismar. The group's head office is located in Hamburg.