The Sports Group at Charles Russell Speechlys (winners of Legal 500’s Sports Practice of the Year 2015) completed two high profile football club deals on Thursday 10th March, advising on the sale of Bolton Wanderers FC and the acquisition of 49.9% of Everton FC.

It marked the conclusion of a particularly busy period for the non-contentious side of the Sports Group with some team members, notably Senior Associate Tom Smitham, working on both deals. Keir Gordon led the team on the Bolton deal with Ian Lynam leading on the Everton transaction.

Stibbe advised the shareholders of Punch Powertrain (an independent full system supplier of fuel efficient powertrains with headquarters in Sint-Truiden), which include GIMV, LRM, Capricorn, and PMV, and the management, in relation to the EUR 1 billion sale of their shares to the China based Yinyi Group.

Teams (Corporate, Tax, and IP) from our Brussels and Hong Kong offices joined forces in this transaction.

We are acting as the legal advisor to the sellers in the sale of Touhula Varhaiskasvatus Oy to EQT Mid Market Fund. In addition to the sellers, Coronaria Hoitoketju Oy and the management of Touhula, we also advised Cor Group Oy, Norvestia Oyj and Finnish Industry Investment Ltd in relation to their reinvestment in the company.

On 7 March 2016, Österreichische Post announced the sale of its logistics provider trans-o-flex headquartered in Weinheim. Amberger Familien GbR, Tegernsee, and Schoeller Holding, Munich/Zürich, acquire the target company in equal shares. trans-o-flex is a logistics company with revenues of about €500m focusing on providing transport solutions for the pharmaceutical, healthcare and consumer electronics sectors in Germany. trans-o-flex retains 1,900 employees and operates 91 sites in Germany and Austria.

Private equity partner Helen Croke has advised Bridgepoint Development Capital and the selling shareholders on the sale of Evander Locks & Glazing to VPS, the vacant property, site security and property services specialists.

Evander is the UK’s leading nationwide emergency response glazing and locks business. It provides 24/7 response and fulfilment services to the insurance and commercial sectors as well as direct to consumers.

Chinese company Beijing Enterprises acquired EEW Energy from Waste group, headquartered in Helmstedt in Lower Saxony, from Swedish private equity investor EQT. At almost EUR 1.44 billion, it is thus far the largest direct investment by a Chinese company in Germany. EQT acquired 51% of EEW Energy from Waste through E.on at the beginning of 2013 and took over the remaining shares last summer. The transaction requires a so-called clearance certificate of the German Federal Ministry of Economics.

Noerr advised Analytik Jena AG on a squeeze-out procedure. A Noerr team led by the Frankfurt-based partners Dr Stephan Schulz and Dr Laurenz Wieneke assisted the company comprehensively during the transaction, especially in preparing and conducting an extraordinary general meeting. The meeting approved the transfer of shares from the minority shareholders to the main shareholder, a subsidiary of the Swiss measuring instrument manufacturer Endress+Hauser. Endress+Hauser will now acquire all remaining shares in Analytik Jena AG in return for appropriate cash compensation.

DLA Piper advised Willow TV International, the leading cricket broadcaster in the US, in its acquisition by Times Internet, India's largest digital network and part of the Times of India Group. The DLA Piper team provided counsel on complex transactional and tax structuring planning and on execution advice for the sale of Willow's cross-border business.

We acted as Christian Berner Invest AB’s legal advisor in a transaction in which Oy Teknoma Ab purchased all the shares in Lautex from Christian Berner Invest AB on 7 March 2016. Through this deal, Christian Berner Invest AB became the owner of 25% of Oy Teknoma Ab’s shares.

Clifford Chance has advised leading growth market investor, Actis on the sale of its stake in Plateno Hotel Group (Plateno) to Shanghai JinJiang International Hotels Development Co. (Jinjiang Hotels), a Shanghai A-share listed subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned enterprise Jinjiang Group. Plateno, formerly 7 Days Inn Group, is a leading Chinese budget and mid-range hotel chain.