Ashurst has advised KordaMentha (receivers and managers of Auspine Limited, Gunns Consolidated Investments Pty Ltd and Gunns Limited) on the sale of Bell Bay and Tarpeena saw mills.

New Forests Timber Products Pty Limited (New Forests) has acquired the softwood timber saw milling and distribution operations at the Tarpeena saw mill, located in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia and the Bell Bay saw mill, located in the eastern shore of the Tamar River in Northern Tasmania.

Leading international law firm SJ Berwin has advised Universal Music Group (UMG) on its sale of Parlophone Label Group to Warner Music Group for £487 million.

The sale follows the approval of UMG’s £1.2 billion acquisition of EMI Recorded Music by the European Commission in September 2012, on which SJ Berwin also advised UMG.

Hogan Lovells counseled Dell Inc. on one of the largest going-private transactions in the technology industry. On 5 February, the computer giant officially announced the US$24.4 billion deal.

Macfarlanes has advised Gresham Private Equity and the other shareholders of 7city Learning on its sale to Fitch Group, a global leader in financial information services.

7city Learning provides learning and development solutions to the financial services industry and will be combined with Fitch's Training unit to form Fitch 7city Learning, a global provider of financial training.

The Macfarlanes team comprised M&A partner Charles Meek, tax partner Andrew Loan and senior associate, Jessica Adam.

International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Aqueduct Capital (UK) Limited and its shareholders on the disposal of the Sutton and East Surrey Water Group (the “SESW Group”) to Sumitomo Corporation.

Ashurst has advised Atari on its financial restructuring and on the acquisition by Ker Ventures and Alden Capital of the interests of its historic shareholder and sole lender, BlueBay.

The Ashurst corporate team advising Atari on these transactions was composed of counsel Joël Corcessin and by associate Mélanie Martin on the corporate and equity capital markets aspects. Partner Jean-Pierre Farges and counsel Pierre-Emmanuel Fender were involved on the restructuring aspects of the operations.

Allen & Overy  has advised LNR Property LLC ("LNR") on the non-US aspects of the USD1.05 billion sale of LNR to Starwood Property Trust and Starwood Capital Group.
LNR, founded in 1969 and headquartered in Miami, is a leading diversified real estate investment, finance, management and development firm with over 550 employees located in 12 offices throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Poland

The Polish company Ivona Software, which delivers products using text-to-speech technology, has been acquired by Amazon.com.

The technology offered by Ivona Software, a leader in the field of speech synthesis, converts written text into speech using a database of voice recordings. Ivona now offers voice and language portfolios with 44 voices in 17 languages and more in development.

It has been announced that the technology developed by Ivona Software powers the Text-to-Speech, Voice Guide and Explore by Touch features on Kindle Fire tablets.

Hill Dickinson’s corporate team in Liverpool has advised on the sale of Educare Adolescent Services Limited (Educare) to Horizon Care, a provider of specialist care and education to children with complex needs, backed by NBGI private equity, for an undisclosed sum.

Led by Partner, Craig Scott alongside Associate, Michael Murphy, Hill Dickinson’s Liverpool office advised Educare and its shareholders on the legal process of the deal, which follows a period of strategic planning to prepare the business for sale.

Addleshaw Goddard has advised Admiral Taverns, one of the largest pub companies in the UK, on its £200m acquisition by US-based private investment firm, Cerberus Capital Management.

The Addleshaw Goddard team, led by corporate partners Philip Goodstone and Yunus Seedat and legal director Richard Robinson with support from a cross-divisional team of 30 legal experts, acted for the Admiral shareholders throughout the complex transaction.