On February 13, 2018, Seadrill Partners LLC (SDLP) reached an agreement with the majority of lenders on an amended Term Loan B credit agreement (TLB Facility) to waive the leverage covenant until the maturity of the loan in February 2021. Concurrent with the TLB waivers, SDLP has sought waivers from three of its other secured facilities (the Secured Facilities). Orrick represented the Conflicts Committee of SDLP (the Conflicts Committee) in relation to both the waivers under the Secured Facilities and the amendments under the TLB.

Orrick has advised Turkish construction group Limak Cement and its Côte d’Ivoire subsidiary, Limak Africa S.A, on the financing of a major cement production facility near Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire.

Ashurst advised Triuva Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH (Triuva), a company of Patrizia Immobilien AG, on the acquisition of the core property K1 on behalf of an institutional investor. K1 was sold by CBRE Global Investors.

Hogan Lovells advised LeasePlan Corporation N.V. on the setting up of the first public securitisation of lease and related residual value receivables originated by its French subsidiary, LeasePlan France, for a total of 653,000,000 euros.

LeasePlan France is a leading actor in the French domestic multi-brand vehicle leasing market. LeasePlan has already set up similar operations in other jurisdictions including the United Kingdom, Germany and The Netherlands.

Clifford Chance has advised the Deutsche Glasfaser Group on its refinancing of 650 million EUR.

Refinancing serves to further expand the fiber-optic infrastructure in Germany, especially in rural areas. The expansion of broadband coverage is an important requirement for the increasing digitization of the economy and society.

DLA Piper has advised Finnish private equity investor MB Funds on its investment in Pohjolan Energia Oy, the leading small-scale solar energy system provider in Finland.

MB Funds becomes partner and majority shareholder of Pohjolan Energia Oy to support the company’s growth and international expansion. The current owners continue in key management roles and as significant shareholders in the company.

Clifford Chance advised Grohe Beteiligungs GmbH on the total takeover of Grohe AG by excluding the minority shareholders.

On 21 November 2017, the Annual General Meeting of Grohe AG decided to transfer the shares of the minority shareholders of Grohe AG to the main shareholder Grohe Beteiligungs GmbH. Grohe pays a cash compensation of EUR 63,48 for each share. With the exclusion of minority shareholders, Grohe Beteiligungs GmbH is now the exclusive owner of Grohe AG.

Kirkland advised Pollen Street Capital (“PSC”), a fund manager focusing on investments in the financial and business services sectors, which closed its third fund, PSC III, on 14 February, 2018. The fund exceeded the initial fundraising target of £350 million, closing with final commitments of £400 million from a number of high quality global institutional investors. The fund will primarily target lower mid-market investments in European financial services businesses with opportunities for growth and has so far made seven investments.

Orrick’s Paris litigation team obtained a major victory for Italian energy company ENEL in a long battle involving Albanian judgments against the company.

Shearman & Sterling represented Goldman Sachs International, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Banca Akros S.p.A. Gruppo Banco BPM, Banca IMI and Raiffeisen Bank International on KME AG’s €300 million offering of its 6¾% senior secured notes due 2023. The offering, which was conducted pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act, closed on February 9, 2018.