Deals – 6 March 2008

Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I’s Vietnam offices represented SSI the seller and majority shareholder in Proconco, a Vietnamese joint venture company, in negotiating, structuring and closing the transfer of all SSI’s interests. This transaction, involving multiple jurisdictions and requiring fine-tuned fiscal structuring, was valued at € 30 million.

Maples and Calder have provided Cayman Islands legal advice to Asia Alternative Asset Partners (Caymans) Ltd (the Company), Triple A Partners’ new fund seeding platform, on its successful first closing. The Company plans to hold a second closing to raise up to an additional US$200 million in the second half of this year. The Company, through its subsidiaries, will provide start-up working capital to the managers of Asia domiciled or Asian focused investment funds in return for a minority equity interest in their company.

Maples and Calder provided Cayman Islands advice to Vision Investment Management Ltd (Vision), in relation to the proposed investment worth over HK$700 million (US$90 million) by IFIL Group (IFIL). by way of a 5-year mandatory convertible bond. IFIL will invest in Vision through a five year mandatory convertible bond which, upon conversion in 2013, will see IFIL take a 40 percent interest in Vision.

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, in conjunction with Japanese law firm Nagashima Ohno Tsunematsu, has advised Japanese lender NIS Group (NIS) on its strategic alliance with, and US$288 million investment in, NIS Group by U.S. private equity firm TPG. In addition to an investment at the parent company level, TPG-managed funds also acquired a stake in NIS’s Chinese leasing unit through a multi-tier restructuring of ownership interests.

Minter Ellison has advised Macquarie Private Capital Group (MPG) in the proposed take private of the group recently announced to the Australian market. Bear Stearns Private Equity Limited has agreed to acquire all the stapled securities in MPG. The cash offer of A$1.062 per security values MPG at A$115.5 million. MPG was listed in 2005 as a fund-of-funds and an avenue for retail investors to access private equity investments.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison represented Motorola, Inc., in the acquisition of the assets related to digital cable set-top products of Zhejiang Dahua Group and Hangzhou Image Silicon (collectively, Dahua Digital).Dahua Digital is a privately held, developer, manufacturer, and marketer of cable set-tops and related low cost integrated circuits for the emerging Chinese cable business. Dahua Digital will be integrated into Motorola’s Home & Networks Mobility business.

WongPartnership LLP acted for OWW Capital Partners Pte Ltd in the acquisition of a minority stake in Bezurk Pte Ltd. This transaction is concurrent with the acquisition of a minority stake in Bezurk by News Digital Media, the digital media arm of Australia-based News Limited.