Ashurst advised the management of the tyre wholesaler Gundlach on the acquisition of Gundlach Automotive Corporation (GAC) by Dutch private equity investor Gilde Buy Out Partners and the management.

At the turn of the new year Gilde and the management has taken over Gundlach Automotive Corporation (GAC) and its group from Pon Holdings B.V. Gundlach Automotive Corporation is an aftermarket distributor of tyres, rims, completely-fitted wheels, and other services to car dealerships and wholesalers in Germany, as well as wheel assembly services to blue-chip car OEMs in Europe.

DLA Piper represented CIT Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A., New York Branch in the US$100 million project financing and refinancing of the continuing expansion and development of a landmark fleet of behind-the-meter battery energy storage systems in Southern California for Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. and affiliates.

On September 28, 2018, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. (85% interest and mine operator) ("SMM") and Sumitomo Corp. (15% interest) ("SC") completed the US$260 million sale of the Pogo Gold Mine in Alaska to Northern Star Resources.

Sumitomo Metal Mining is Japan's largest gold miner and a global leader in the development and mining of non-ferrous metals.

Linklaters advised Unilever on the sale of assets used for the manufacturing of spreads products in its Polish factory in Katowice to Upfield (Manufacturing) Polska sp. z o.o., a company from the KKR group. The transaction was part of a global sales process of Unilever's spreads business with operations in 66 countries worldwide, which includes brands such as Becel, Flora, Country Crock, Blue Band, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Rama and ProActiv. It was the largest leveraged buyout in Europe in 2017 and one of the largest private equity deals of 2017.

International legal practice Osborne Clarke has advised Arlington and Equitix on a joint venture acquisition of ‘The Stellar Portfolio’ of 1,857 beds of purpose-built student accommodation (“PBSA”)  from Fusion Students.

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised listed Italian energy company Falck Renewables S.p.A, through its France-based subsidiary Falck Energies Renouvelables SAS, on the acquisition, for an expected price of approximately EUR 37m, of a portfolio of five operating wind farms totaling an installed capacity of 59.5MW, with an expected annual total output of 117 GWh, from clean energy investor Glennmont Clean Energy Cooperatief U.A.

Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai – Paul Hastings, a leading global law firm, announced today that the firm advised ICBC International Investment Management Limited (“ICBC International”), the wholly-owned Hong Kong subsidiary of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, on its formation of a partnership with China Logistics Property Holdings Co, Ltd.

Christian Keilich, Stefan Löchner, Philipp Stoecker, Jan H. Grabbe, Dominik Engl, Thomas Krecek, Stefan Bruder, Margret Bootz-Hagen, Gregor Evenkamp, Alexandra Margarete Uhl
Frankfurt

Clifford Chance has advised Eurotower Frankfurt GmbH & Co. KG on the sale of the Eurotower in Frankfurt to Patrizia Immobilien AG. Patrizia was acting on behalf of the Taiwanese insurer Fubon Life. This was one of the largest real estate transactions on the Frankfurt market in 2018.

International law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner’s Healthcare team have advised listed Belgian healthcare investor Aedifica on the acquisition of a portfolio of 93 care home properties across England for approximately £450m from Lonestar. This marks Aedifica’s entry into the UK market, making it the fourth country in its portfolio.

Hamburg – DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG has sold three underground natural gas storage facilities operating in southern Bavaria to NAFTA Bavaria GmbH. The buyer is a subsidiary of Slovak NAFTA a.s., a company of the Czech EPH Group. The transfer became effective as of January 1st, 2019.