French Bouygues Construction and Colas Rail, the rail subsidiary of Colas Group, have been chosen by Alpiq Group for the acquisition of Alpiq Engineering Services – a leading Swiss player in the energy, industrial services and rail infrastructure sectors. Clifford Chance advised Bouygues Construction on this acquisition with an enterprise value of CHF 850 million. The closing of the operation is scheduled for the second half of 2018, subject to the approval of the European and Swiss competition authorities.

Dentons is pleased to have advised the syndicate of underwriters, BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi, Morgan Stanley, SMBC Nikko, ABN AMRO and RBC Capital Markets, on the issue by RELX PLC ("RELX") of €500 million 1.500 per cent guaranteed bonds due 2027.

Dentons is advising longstanding client FreeAgent Holdings plc ("FreeAgent"), the AIM-listed provider of cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) accounting software solutions and mobile applications designed primarily for UK micro-businesses and their accountants, on its proposed acquisition by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc ("RBS"). The terms of the recommended cash offer value FreeAgent at approximately £53 million.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised Novartis AG on the sale of its 36.5% stake in its consumer health joint venture with GSK plc for US$13bn.

The Freshfields team was led by Julian Long and Jennifer Bethlehem with tax partner Paul Davison and antitrust partner Rod Carlton.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (‘Freshfields’) is advising Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin SCA, a global leader in tire manufacturing, on its recommended all-cash offer for London-listed Fenner plc (‘Fenner’).

Fenner is a world leader in conveyor belts and reinforced polymer technology based in Hessle, England. The acquisition values Fenner at approximately £1.3 billion and is conditional on the receipt of shareholder, regulatory and court approvals.  It is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018.

Gowling WLG has advised client Cairngorm Capital Partners (Cairngorm Capital) on its acquisition of Parker Building Supplies (Parkers), an independent builders' merchant based in the South East of England.

The transaction, led by Corporate partner and Head of Private Equity Ian Piggin with support from a cross-firm team including Fabiano Iesini (Corporate), Anna Colley (Property) and Mark Owen (Banking), sees Cairngorm Capital acquiring the business from its founder and Managing Director, Tom Parker.

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Berenberg on the successful capital increase of RIB Software SE by way of issuance of about 4.7 million new shares from authorised capital. The New Shares were placed with domestic and foreign institutional investors by means of accelerated bookbuilding, hereby excluding subscription rights. The total placement volume amounts to €131 million.

Practice Osborne Clarke has advised the owners of Medical IT company, Rein Medical on its sale to Japanese group, JVCKENWOOD.

Headquartered in Mönchengladbach and with subsidiaries in Switzerland and Spain, Rein Medical realizes holistic IT solutions for clinics and medical practices. The company is one of the leading providers of diagnostic and viewing systems in Germany and Europe, and also provides clinic-wide image and video management solutions. Under the new owner, Rein Medical is looking to grow particularly in Japan and the US.

International legal practice Osborne Clarke has advised the shareholders of award-winning tax consultancy, ForrestBrown, on its acquisition by alliantgroup, the premier provider of tax credits and incentives in the United States.

With this acquisition, ForrestBrown becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of alliantgroup. The ForrestBrown brand, all 63 employees and its Bristol headquarters, will be retained. The sale will allow ForrestBrown to expand its footprint outside of the UK.

BTA Bank, Kazakhstan's major bank, commenced the US $75 million UNCITRAL arbitration claim in 2011 in respect of an alleged corporate raid on BTA Bank’s subsidiary in the Kyrgyz Republic.  BTA Bank alleged that the Kyrgyz Republic’s conduct resulted in the expropriation of BTA Bank’s 71% shareholding and other investments in BTA Bank’s subsidiary bank in the Kyrgyz Republic.