Leipzig – The Hirmer Group has acquired Travel Charme Hotels & Resorts, one of Germany’s leading resort and holiday hotel chains. The transaction sees the Munich-based family-owned business extending its existing fashion and real estate portfolio to include hotels. The parties agreed not to disclose details of the purchase price.

An international CMS team headed by lead partner Dr Jochen Lux advised the Hirmer Group on all legal aspects of the transaction.

Sidley advised Summit Partners on its acquisition of a majority stake in Elatec, one of the world’s leading suppliers of multi-standard RFID readers, from DPE Deutsche Private Equity. DPE Deutsche Private Equity and its co-investors will retain a minority stake in Elatec.

Law firm Stephenson Harwood has advised Aetna International Inc. (Aetna) on its acquisition of Hong Kong-based Canadian Insurance Company Limited (CICL).

The acquisition means that Aetna, the US headquartered healthcare benefits provider, is now licensed to offer health insurance in Hong Kong. The license allows Aetna to market its products and services solely under the Aetna brand. The transaction required both corporate and regulatory advice, and coincided with the restructuring of the insurance regulator in Hong Kong, which brought additional challenges.

Cooley advised GIC of Singapore on its investment in Oxford Nanopore Technologies as part of the £100 million raised from global investors, including China Construction Bank International, Hostplus and existing investors. Cooley London managing partner Justin Stock led the team advising GIC.

Oxford Nanopore has developed the world’s only portable, real-time DNA/RNA sequencer, the MinION. The funds raised will be used for the company’s expansion, including a new manufacturing facility in Oxford, UK, development of the global team and further research and development.

Davis Polk is advising ContourGlobal plc on the UK Listing Rules aspects of its acquisition of Acciona Termosolar, S.L.U. including its five 50 MW concentrated solar power plants in South-West Spain for cash consideration at closing of approximately €806 million. The acquisition, which classifies as a Class 1 transaction for ContourGlobal under the UK Listing Rules, is conditional, among other things, upon shareholder approval, and is expected to complete during the second quarter of 2018.

Carlyle and GIC to acquire 100% of AkzoNobel's Specialty Chemicals business.

AkzoNobel has announced the sale of 100% of its Specialty Chemicals business to The Carlyle Group and GIC for an enterprise value of €10.1 billion. This transaction creates two focused and high performing businesses – Paints and Coatings, and Specialty Chemicals – as part of its strategy announced in April 2017. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed before the end of 2018.

French Bouygues Construction and Colas Rail, the rail subsidiary of Colas Group, have been chosen by Alpiq Group for the acquisition of Alpiq Engineering Services – a leading Swiss player in the energy, industrial services and rail infrastructure sectors. Clifford Chance advised Bouygues Construction on this acquisition with an enterprise value of CHF 850 million. The closing of the operation is scheduled for the second half of 2018, subject to the approval of the European and Swiss competition authorities.

Gowling WLG has advised client Cairngorm Capital Partners (Cairngorm Capital) on its acquisition of Parker Building Supplies (Parkers), an independent builders' merchant based in the South East of England.

The transaction, led by Corporate partner and Head of Private Equity Ian Piggin with support from a cross-firm team including Fabiano Iesini (Corporate), Anna Colley (Property) and Mark Owen (Banking), sees Cairngorm Capital acquiring the business from its founder and Managing Director, Tom Parker.

Global law firm, Reed Smith has advised new client Catella AB (Catella) on the acquisition of a majority stake in APAM Ltd.

Through Catella’s property fund, Catella Property Fund Management AB (CPFM), the organisation signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a majority stake in the leading UK real estate investment and asset management company, APAM Ltd.

With operations in 14 countries, Catella is a leading pan-European organisation specialising in property investments, fund management and banking.

Travers Smith LLP has advised longstanding client Equistone Partners Europe (Equistone) on its upcoming acquisition of the Small World Financial Services (Small World) from sellers including FPE Capital, MMC Ventures and the existing Small World management team. The financial terms of the deal are undisclosed and, as Small World is regulated in multiple countries, completion of the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals. The investment is one of the first from Equistone's sixth fund, Equistone Partners Europe Fund VI.