Allen & Gledhill has advised DBS Bank, as arranger and dealer, on the establishment of a S$500 million (US$361.5m) multicurrency debt issuance programme by Thomson Medical Group. The firm also advised DBS, Credit Suisse (Singapore) and Maybank Kim Eng Securities, as joint lead managers and joint book-runners, on the issue of S$225 million (US$162.7m) 4.8 percent notes due 2022 under the programme. Deutsche Bank Singapore Branch was appointed principal paying agent and CDP registrar, while Deutsche Bank Hong Kong Branch was appointed non-CDP paying agent and non-CDP registrar. DB International Trust (Singapore) was appointed trustee of the holders of securities issued under the programme and security trustee for the holders of the relevant notes issued under the programme. Partners Margaret Chin, Fabian Tan, Daselin Ang and Sunit Chhabra led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Allen & Gledhill has also advised Frontiir, the leading internet service provider in Myanmar, on a direct equity investment by CDC, the UK’s development finance institution, in Frontiir, under which CDC has taken a minority stake in Frontiir. The first direct equity investment in Myanmar by CDC, the investment will help fund Frontiir’s expansion throughout Myanmar, connecting over two million people to the internet. Myanmar director Oh Hsiu-Hau led the firm’s team in the transaction.
AZB & Partners is advising Excel Industries on its Rs950 million (US$13.4m) acquisition, by way of a business transfer, of the chemical manufacturing unit of NetMatrix Crop Care at the Andhra Pradesh SEZ, Visakhapatnam. Partner Vaidhyanadhan Iyer is leading the firm’s team in the transaction, which was signed on July 4, 2019 and is yet to be completed.
AZB & Partners is also advising Visa International Service Association on its acquisition, with other entities, of approximately five percent equity stake in PayMate India. Partners Ashwath Rau and Anu Tiwari are leading the firm’s team in the transaction, which was signed on July 18, 2019 and is yet to be completed.
Baker McKenzie has advised Hong Kong-listed Evergrande Health Industry Group on the establishment of a joint venture with Hofer. The joint venture will be devoted to developing world-leading integrated electric axles for Evergrande, and establishing advanced research and development in Germany with a production base in China. hofer powertrain, a world leader in the development and application of new energy vehicle electric drive systems, is widely recognised for its leading capability to design, develop and manufacture integrated electric drive units. Corporate partners Andreas Lohner and Jon Marcus Meese, supported by IP partner Michael Fammler, corporate partners Lawrence Lee and Christina Lee, as well as Scott Silverman and Chunyuan Dou from FenXun Partners, led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Baker McKenzie has also advised Swedish investment firm EQT Partners on the acquisition by its Asia-focused mid-market fund of a majority stake in Nexon Asia Pacific, which provides unified communications, cloud, managed security, business solutions and digital workspace services to clients across various sectors in Australia. Australian head of private equity Simon De Young, supported by partner Lawrence Mendes, led the firm’s team in the transaction.
CNPLaw has acted as Singapore counsel to Malaysia-listed Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor on its acquisition, through its wholly owned subsidiary Perangsang Dinamik, of 100 percent equity interest in Toyoplas Manufacturing (Malaysia), a plastic injection moulding firm. Partner Ken Chia led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was signed on May 17, 2019 for a cash consideration of M$311.25 million (US$74.2m)..
CNPLaw has also acted as Singapore counsel to CBMM Supply Services and Solutions, a Singapore-headquartered mining and quarrying supply services and solutions provider, on its seed fundraising involving equity injections of US$1 million by UAE and US institutional investors. Partner Ken Chia also led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed in April 2019.
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has advised Essel Group companies Cyquator Media Services and Essel Corporate on the sale of 11 percent stake in Zee Entertainment Enterprises to OFI Global China Fund. The deal was signed on July 31, 2019 and is expected to close by August 31, 2019. Managing partner Cyril Shroff and partner Akila Agrawal, supported by partners Mukul Sharma and Ramanuj Kumar, led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was valued up to Rs42.44 billion (US$598.2m). KPMG also advised the sellers.
J Sagar Associates has advised YES Securities (India), Elara Capital (India), IDBI Capital Markets & Securities and SBI Capital Markets, as the book-running lead managers, on the proposed IPO of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA). IREDA has filed a draft red herring prospectus with the SEBI for a fresh issue of up to 139 million equity shares, including a reservation of up to 695,000 equity shares for IREDA employees. IREDA is a domestic financial institution with more than 30 years of experience in the Indian renewable energy sector. Partners Vikram Raghani and Arka Mookerjee led the firm’s team in the transaction.
J Sagar Associates has also advised Affirma Capital (earlier known as Standard Chartered) on the acquisition by its affiliate, TBO Korea Holdings, of a significant minority stake in the share capital of Tirupati Medicare, which is engaged in contract manufacturing pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, sports nutrition and ayurvedic products for some of the major pharma companies. The deal was structured such that TBO acquired shares as a combination of primary infusion of capital and secondary purchase of shares from Tirupati Medicare promoters. The transaction is valued at approximately US$50 million, while the investment is spread over two tranches, with the second tranche scheduled to close in September 2019. Partners Sidharrth Shankar, Rupinder Malik, Shantanu Jindel and Rajul Bohra led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Khaitan & Co has advised Mitsui & Co on the US$14 million investment in Smart E — Treasure Vase Ventures, an all-electric vehicle platform focusing on first and last mile connectivity / mobility services in urban areas. The company provides environmentally sustainable solutions and is also engaged in establishing charging stations, electric vehicle hubs and other related infrastructure in furtherance of its business operations. Partner Zakir Merchant, supported by partner Shailendra Bhandare, led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Khaitan & Co has also advised Usha Martin on the closing of the sale of its producing iron ore mine and a coal mine under development to Tata Sponge Iron, through a slump sale on a going-concern basis, as a part of its steel business transfer. Partners Haigreve Khaitan, Anuj Shah and Supratim Chakraborty, supported by partner Shivanshu Thaplyal, led the firm’s team in the transaction, which involved complex structuring issues, including advice on various regulatory issues and transfer of mines.
Maples Group (Hong Kong) has acted as Cayman Islands and BVI counsel to CIFI Holdings on its issuance of Rmb1.6 billion (US$227m) 6.7 percent senior notes due 2022. The notes are listed in Hong Kong, and the transaction closed on July 23, 2019. CIFI is a property developer and property investor in China. Partner Lorraine Pao led the firm’s team in the transaction, while Sidley Austin acted as US and Hong Kong counsel. Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as US counsel to Standard Chartered Bank, as the sole global coordinator and lead manager.
Maples Group (Hong Kong) has also acted as BVI counsel to Tongfang Aqua on its issuance of US$300 million 6.8 percent guaranteed bonds due 2022, unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by Tsinghua Tongfang. The bonds are listed in Hong Kong, and the transaction closed on July 20, 2019. Tsinghua is a renowned technology company in China founded by Tsinghua University to commercialise its technological expertise and research outputs. Partner Derrick Kan led the firm’s team in the transaction, while King & Wood Mallesons acted as English counsel. Linklaters acted as English counsel to DBS Bank, UBS AG Hong Kong Branch, CMB International Capital, Guotai Junan Securities (Hong Kong), Orient Securities (Hong Kong) and BOCOM International Securities, as the joint lead managers.
Paul Hastings and Simpson Thacher advised on the definitive agreement by Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Fosun Pharma) to sell its stake in United Family Healthcare (UFH), valued at US$523.15 million, to New Frontier Corporation (NFC). Upon closing of the transaction, Fosun Pharma will subscribe to approximately 6.6 percent equity stake in NFC for approximately US$94 million. The entire transaction, which also involves the global alternative asset firm TPG selling its stake in UFH to NFC, values UFH at approximately US$1.3 billion. UFH is one of the largest and most recognised private healthcare providers offering comprehensive premium healthcare services in China. New York-listed NFC is a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by New Frontier Group, a China-focused investment group that invests in, builds and operates diversified businesses in the new economy sectors of China. The new company will operate under the name of New Frontier Health Corporation, with the mission to deliver high quality and comprehensive healthcare services across China, and to continue to grow through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. Shanghai corporate partners Jia Yan and David Wang led the firm’s team in the transaction. Simpson Thacher advised New Frontier, with partners Patrick Naughton, Yang Wang, Robert Holo and Larry Moss leading the firm’s team in the transaction.
Rajah & Tann Singapore, member firm of Rajah & Tann Asia, is acting for Gaw Capital Partners on the approximately S$1.6 billion (US$1.16b) acquisition by a consortium, comprising of Gaw Capital Partners and Allianz Real Estate, of the entire issued and paid-up share capital of Ophir-Rochor Commercial, a wholly-owned subsidiary of M+S, which owns the property situated at 3 and 7 Fraser Street, Singapore and known as Duo Tower and Duo Galleria, respectively. Partners Norman Ho, Sandy Foo, Benjamin Tay and Favian Tan are leading the firm’s team in the transaction.
Rajah & Tann Singapore, member firm of Rajah & Tann Asia, has also acted for Oneberry Technologies, a leading provider in remote surveillance solutions, on its Series A fundraising round with CMIA Capital Partners. Partner Terence Quek led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Simpson Thacher is advising KKR on the signing of a stock and asset purchase agreement with Campbell Soup, under which KKR will acquire certain international operations from Campbell International for an enterprise value of approximately US$2.2 billion. Hong Kong M&A partners Katie Sudol and Ian Ho, and New York partners (intellectual property), Katharine Moir (tax) and Tristan Brown (executive compensation and employee benefits) led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allens also advised KKR.
TT&A has advised on Indian renewable energy company Greenko Energy Holdings’ US$950 million international bond offering, which was three times oversubscribed. GIC Holdings, part of Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (AIDA) supported Greenko in what was the largest green bond placement in Asia. The fundraising came a week after the two funds agreed to make an additional US$329 million equity investment in Greenko to fund its business plan. The Hyderabad-based firm, which focuses on building integrated renewable energy plants with storage, currently has more than 4.2 GW of operational wind, solar and hydropower assets in its portfolio, and has over seven GW under construction. At present, GIC is the largest shareholder in Greenko with a 61 percent interest, while AIDA holds 15 percent. The remaining 24 percent are owned by major shareholders Mahesh Kolli and Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty. Partner Rahul Gulati led the firm’s team in the transaction.
