Banco Popular has reached an agreement with the American investment manager Värde Partners to sell its 51% stake in Bancopopular-e, the company responsible for the card issuing business. The sale includes Citibank España’s bank card business, bought by Banco Popular in June.

Under the terms of the acquisition, which is being structured as a Court sanctioned scheme of arrangement, SMSUK will acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Motivcom. Shareholders of Motivcom will receive 148 pence per ordinary share of 0.5 pence each in the share capital of Motivcom, valuing the company at approximately £41 million.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Labregah Real Estate Company Q.S.C. on the sale of Barwa City Real Estate Company LLC to the General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority (GRSIA), the national pension fund of the state of Qatar. The transaction closed on September 29, 2014.

South San Francisco-based Alios BioPharma, Inc., a biotechnology company developing proprietary therapeutics for viral diseases, has announced a definitive agreement with Johnson & Johnson whereby Alios will be acquired for approximately $1.75 billion in cash payable upon closing of the transaction. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Taylor Wessing has advised Neul, the company that makes the radio modules that allow communication between devices, on its recent acquisition by Huawei, the global ICT solutions provider, the agreement reinforcing Cambridge's status as a leading global technology hub.

Ashurst has advised Cygnet Health Care and its major shareholders on its acquisition by Universal Health Services, Inc. for a consideration of approximately £205 million.  This acquisition is the first of its kind by UHS outside of the Americas.

Cygnet is one of the largest independent providers of behavioural health facilities in the UK, with a total of 17 facilities including 15 inpatient behavioural health hospitals and two nursing homes.  Universal Health Care, Inc. is one of the USA's largest hospital companies.

DWF has advised Nixon Williams, a leading accountancy practice for contractors and freelancers, on its sale to Sovereign Capital, the UK private equity Buy & Build specialist. The £100million deal also saw Sovereign Capital acquire SJD Accountancy (SJD) in a move which creates the largest group providing accounting services to the contractor and SME markets in the UK.

Osborne Clarke has advised Broadstone Group Management Limited, the parent company of Broadstone Group of companies which provide independent pensions and investment advice, on the sale of Broadstone Wealth Management to Thomas Miller Investment.

Olswang has advised the shareholders of Clifford Thames Group Limited, the UK market leading automotive data firm, on the buy-out of the company by leading private equity group LDC.

In addition to acting for the shareholders of Clifford Thames on the sale, Olswang also advised the management team on their equity investment in the acquisition vehicle.

Slaughter and May, working as a team with European Best Friend firms Hengeler Mueller and Bonelli Erede Pappalardo, have advised Direct Line Insurance Group plc on its agreement with Spanish insurance company Mapfre for the sale of the Group's International division, which comprises its Italian and German operations. The three firms worked as a single-operational team to provide the cross-border advice on the deal.