Eversheds Sutherland has advised client 20|30 Limited (20|30), a UK company building blockchain-based platforms for corporate equity issuance, on its admission to Cohort 4 of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) regulatory sandbox.

The regulatory sandbox allows businesses to test innovative products, services, business models and delivery mechanisms in the real market, with real consumers. The sandbox is open to authorised firms, unauthorised firms that require authorisation and technology businesses.

Stephen Besen is the second senior M&A partner addition in recent months, further strengthening the firm’s U.S. M&A practice

​Allen & Overy LLP announced today that Stephen Besen has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in the M&A practice.

Stephen is a versatile and experienced M&A lawyer and joins from Shearman & Sterling. He has 35 years of experience advising on public and private company mergers and tender offers, joint ventures, restructurings, private equity and other private capital transactions.

International law firm Ashurst announces the appointment of partner Tom Duncan in its dispute resolution team in London.

With the recruitment of property investment partner René Dubois from Noerr, Dentons now offers real estate advice from all three offices in Germany.

Munich—Global law firm Dentons has announced the recruitment of René Dubois, Real Estate transactional partner, to strengthen its team in Germany. Dubois, who focuses on investment and complex property transactions, will be based in Munich. With this addition, the Firm now offers real estate advice from all three of its offices in Germany – Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised the lenders on a new US$820 million unsecured finance facility provided to EuroChem Group AG, a leading global fertilizer company.

"White & Case has strong working relationships with both the lenders and the borrower, which allowed us to provide efficient advice in a tight timeframe," said Moscow-based local partner Ekaterina Logvinova. "The deal also underlines the strength and cross-border capabilities of our finance team."

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised leading northern European private equity investment company FSN Capital V on the financing of its acquisition of IT companies Office IT-Partner, Zetup and Dicom.

FSN will be the majority owner of the new challenger group, which will have more than 500 employees serving customers from 33 offices across Sweden. The transaction closed on June 28, 2018.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Goldman Sachs on the €108.5 million acquisition by Goldman Sachs and Cromwell Property Group of a portfolio of 24 office properties and three plots in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area from IVG Polar Oy.

The total gross lettable area of the portfolio amounts to approximately 132,000 square metres, and the properties are currently let to more than 360 tenants.

Baker McKenzie assisted the Canadian group, Magna International Inc., one of the world's leading suppliers in the automotive industry, in the acquisition of Olsa SpA, an Italian company specializing in lighting systems based in Turin and with subsidiaries in Brazil, Mexico, China, Poland and Turkey, and boasting among its customers European car manufacturers such as Daimler, Volkswagen, BMW and FCA. Olsa was assisted by Pedersoli Studio Legale.

International law firm Clifford Chance has advised Banco Santander S.A. and CaixaBank S.A. as Mandated Lead Arrangers on the financing of the wind farm project Cerro Grande in Uruguay. The wind farm is being developed by Germany-based wind turbines manufacturer ENERCON GmbH.

Ashurst advised HSH Nordbank on the financing of the acquisition of von Poll Immobilien GmbH and of von Poll Immobilien Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungs GmbH by private equity firm Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG). The real estate brokerage group, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, was sold by its founders who will re-invest in the group in the course of the transaction.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price and the financing volume.