International law firm Ashurst today announces the appointment of real estate and asset finance expert Filip Kurkowski to its finance team in Frankfurt as of February.

DLA Piper is continuing to expand its leading Finance & Projects and Corporate teams with the appointment of two new partners in the Tokyo office. Kaoru Umino will lead the Finance & Projects practice and Dan Matsuda will lead the Energy sector within Tokyo's Corporate practice.

TLT has appointed Andrew Jennings as a corporate partner in its Belfast office, completing the firm's full service offering in NI and demonstrating its ambitions in the NI legal market.

TLT celebrated its fifth anniversary and five years of sustained growth in Belfast in 2017. With this appointment, TLT offers NI clients a full service corporate commercial offering out of its Belfast office backed by a national team of leading experts.

Hogan Lovells announced today that Kevin Keenan has joined the firm’s Houston office as a partner in the Infrastructure, Energy, Resources, and Projects practice.

We are delighted that Kevin has joined us, said Philip Robb, Global head of the firm's Infrastructure, Energy, Resources, and Projects practice. He has a strong background and global experience, and already works with many of our existing energy clients. Kevin gives our practice the additional strength to expand our client services in the energy space in general, and in LNG in particular.

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has expanded into Italy with the addition of a six-lawyer team in Milan led by experienced Italian principals Carlo Majer and Edgardo Ratti. This marks the fourth European country Littler has entered in just over two years following expansion into Germany, France and the United Kingdom and brings its global footprint to more than 75 offices in 17 countries.

Simpson Thacher represented Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners in connection with the acquisition of euNetworks, which closed on January 11, 2018.

euNetworks owns and operates dense fiber-based metropolitan networks in 14 sites in Europe, connected by an intercity backbone covering 49 cities in 15 countries.

Ropes & Gray advised Nanjing, China-based Simcere Pharmaceutical Group in a strategic collaboration with Netherlands-based Merus to obtain an exclusive license to develop and commercialize in China three bispecific antibodies using Merus’ Biclonics technology platform in immunooncology.

Shearman & Sterling represented The Bank of Nova Scotia in connection with its registered offering of $1 billion aggregate principal amount of 2.5% senior notes due 2021 and $500 million aggregate principal amount of floating rate senior notes due 2021.

The Bank of Nova Scotia is Canada’s international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and parts of Asia, offering a broad range of advice, products and services to its approximately 23 million customers around the world.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Société Générale and Gilbert Dupont, as bookrunners, on the sale by Compagnie Financière pour l'Environnement et le Recyclage (CFER), the holding company of the Derichebourg family, of ten percent of  Derichebourg SA's share capital.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised the initial purchasers, including Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs International as global coordinators and joint bookrunners, and BNP Paribas as joint bookrunner, on the high yield offering of €200 million principal amount 8.00%/8.75% Senior PIK Toggle Notes due 2022 by NewCo GB, a parent entity of Burger King France.