Allen & Gledhill has advised the National Environment Agency (NEA) on the establishment of its S$3 billion (US$2.2b) multicurrency medium term note program, and issue of S$350 million (US$258m) 1.67 percent notes due 2031 and S$1.3 billion (US$958m) 2.5 percent notes due 2051 under the program. The notes are intended to be green bonds under NEA’s Green Bond Framework. The 30-year notes marks NEA’s longest tenor green bond denominated in Singapore dollars to-date, as well as the longest tenor unrated public green bond in Southeast Asia. The notes also mark the largest inaugural bond issuance by a Singapore statutory board. The notes issued by NEA will be applied towards financing its development of sustainable waste management infrastructure, starting with the Tuas Nexus Integrated Waste Management Facility, Singapore’s first integrated facility to treat incinerable waste, source-segregated food waste and dewatered sludge. Partners Margaret Chin, Fabian Tan and Sunit Chhabra led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Allen & Gledhill has also advised Keppel on the issue of its S$400 million (US$295m) 2.9 percent subordinated perpetual securities. Partners Margaret Chin, Magdalene Leong and Sunit Chhabra led the firm’s team in the transaction.
AZB & Partners has advised Goldman Sachs on the corporate restructuring of Sapphire Foods India, including the more than US$5 million sale of more than five percent equity stake held by Goldman Sachs in Sapphire Foods India. Partners Gautam Saha, Amrita Patnaik and Punita Gupta led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on August 6, 2021.
AZB & Partners has also advised Baker Hughes Company and its affiliates and General Electric and its affiliates on the approximately Rs2.16 billion (US$29m) sale to Triveni Turbine of 49.99 percent equity stake held by Baker Hughes in the joint venture GE Triveni. Partners Aditya Vikram Bhat, Anind Thomas and Prerak Ved led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on September 6, 2021.
Clifford Chance has advised China Merchants Securities, CMB International Capital, ABCI Capital and ICBC International Capital, as the joint sponsors, on Dongguan Rural Commercial Bank’s US$1.17 billion IPO in Hong Kong. Guangdong-based Dongguan Rural Commercial Bank is the fifth largest rural commercial bank in China, in terms of total assets as of December 31, 2020. Partners Fang Liu and Xiang Tianning, supported by partner Virginia Lee, led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Goodwin has advised New York-listed special purpose acquisition company PTK Acquisition on the completion of its previously announced business combination with Valens Semiconductor. The combined company will be called Valens, and expects its common stock and public warrants to begin trading in New York on September 30, 2021. The business combination was approved at a special meeting of PTK stockholders on September 28, 2021. On May 25, 2021, Valens announced the business combination with PTK, in a transaction valued at approximately US$1.1 billion. The proceeds were used to accelerate development and commercialization of Valens’ next-generation products, and to fully fund the company through profitability. Partners Douglas Freeman, Jocelyn Arel, Dan Espinoza and Chi Pan, supported by partners Yoel Kranz and Todd Pollock, led the firm’s team in the transaction.
J Sagar Associates has advised Premier Energies (PE) and its promoters on its private equity fund raise of up to Rs2 billion (US$26.8m) from GEF Capital Partners. The equity capital is proposed to be utilized by PE for consolidating its presence as a leading integrated solar cell and module manufacturer, by adding additional capacity of 2 GW cell manufacturing and 2 GW of module manufacturing based on the latest technology, along with a planned investment of over Rs12 billion (US$161m) over the next two years. PE is one of India’s leading solar PV cells and module manufacturing companies, providing end-to-end solar power solutions to organizations across India and 30 countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. Partner Manvinder Singh led the firm’s team in the transaction.
J Sagar Associates is also advising ICICI Securities, Axis Capital and JM Financial, as the book-running lead managers, on the IPO of CMR Green Technologies. The IPO consists of a fresh issue of up to Rs3 billion (US$40.3m) CMR equity shares, and an offer for sale by existing shareholders of approximately 33.4 million equity shares. CMR is the largest metal recycler in the Indian aluminum recycling industry, and is among the largest in the world. CMR focuses on the recycling of aluminum, which involves the processing of aluminum-based metal scrap, to manufacture aluminum alloys, and supplying them both in liquid form, as well as solid ingots, and on the manufacturing of zinc alloys. Customers primarily include OEMs and Tier 1 companies supplying to OEMs in the automotive manufacturing sector, including Maruti Suzuki India, Honda Cars India, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Royal Enfield Motors and India Yamaha Motor, and Toyota Industries Engine India. Partner Arka Mookerjee, supported by partner Pracheta Bhattacharya, led the firm’s team in the transaction.
King & Wood Mallesons has acted as Hong Kong and US counsel to Dongguan Rural Commercial Bank (DRC Bank) on the listing of its H shares in Hong Kong on September 29, 2021. The listing was priced at HK$7.92 (US$1.02) per H share, and comprised approximately 1.15 billion H shares. The offer size was approximately HK$9.1 billion (US$1.17b). The net proceeds from the offering will be used to strengthen its capital base by supplementing core tier-one capital, and enhancing capital adequacy indicators to support sustainable business growth. Hong Kong-listed DRC Bank is the fifth largest rural commercial bank in China, and is the largest commercial bank in Dongguan. Its core business focuses on retail and industrial finance, SME and inter-bank financing, as well as digital financing. Partners Candy Chan, Kanne Leung and Yu Wang led the firm’s team in the transaction.
L&L Partners has advised SCI Growth Investments III (Sequoia) and Lightspeed India Partners III and Lightspeed Venture Partners XIII Mauritius on the recent Series A round of investment in CredAvenue, a company which operates a technology-based infrastructure platform for discovery of loans; connects borrowers, issuers, lenders and investors; and provides portfolio and risk management monitoring and other forms of support services to borrowers, issuers, lenders and investors. The present investment was undertaken via primary investment in the equity shares and compulsorily convertible preference shares of the Series A funding round undertaken by CredAvenue. The investment round was led by Sequoia, with participation from Lightspeed, TVS Capital Funds, Lightrock India, CRED and Stride Ventures, amounting to approximately US$90 million. This is the largest Series A round in India, and ascribes the year-old fintech start-up a valuation of US$410 million. Founded in 2020, CredAvenue has already facilitated more than US$9 billion worth of transactions on its platform, on-boarding over 1,500 institutional borrowers and more than 750 investors touching over a million end retail borrowers. The company is planning to use the current funding to expand product capabilities and ramp up the platform’s technology and data science infrastructure. Corporate, M&A and PE partners Navin Syiem and Nitin Gera led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Maples and Calder has acted as Cayman Islands counsel to a biopharmaceutical company on a US$100 million Series D round funding, with CMG-SDIC Capital and Tigermed as the leading investors. The company focuses on discovering and developing new treatments for cancer to improve the patients’ lives by identifying and developing innovative medicines that help people live better and longer. Partner Everton Robertson led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Maples and Calder has also acted as BVI counsel to ENN Clean Energy International Investment on its issuance of US$800 million 3.375 percent guaranteed senior notes due 2026. The bonds are guaranteed by ENN Natural Gas. The ENN Natural Gas group is a leading privately-owned clean energy company in China with an integrated upstream and downstream business portfolio. Its business currently primarily comprises natural gas retail, integrated energy, natural gas wholesale, natural gas direct sales, extended business, construction and installation, and energy production businesses. The bonds are listed in Hong Kong. Partner Juno Huang led the firm’s team in the transaction. Sullivan & Cromwell (Hong Kong) advised the issuer and guarantor on US federal, New York and Hong Kong laws, while Commerce & Finance Law Offices advised on Chinese law. Davis Polk & Wardwell advised the managers on US federal and New York laws, while King & Wood Mallesons advised on Chinese law.
Majmudar & Partners has acted as Indian counsel to leading IT managed services provider Buchanan Technologies on the completion of its acquisition of Cybernoor, including the business operations of Cybernoor India. Cybernoor is a leading global provider of Oracle platform solutions. M&A practice head partner Rukshad Davar and partner Ravishankar Raghavan led the firm’s team in the transaction, which marks the first acquisition for Buchanan Technologies in India.
Mayer Brown has advised Höegh LNG, a company which provides maritime transportation and storage of liquid natural gas (LNG), on the long-term charter and operation and service agreements for a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU). Höegh LNG agreed to receive, store and regasify LNG to supply natural gas, as well as provide other FSRU operations and services, to a subsidiary of New Fortress Energy for ten years. The FSRU, which is scheduled to begin operations in the last quarter of 2021, will be deployed at the Old Harbour Bay in Jamaica. Singapore partner Nick Kouvaritakis, supported by Houston partner Thomas Moore, led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Rajah & Tann Singapore has acted for Koh Brothers Eco Engineering on its S$38.07 million (US$28m) placement of shares to Penta-Ocean Construction. Partners Cheng Yoke Ping and Cynthia Goh led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Shearman & Sterling has advised Osaka Gas and its wholly-owned US subsidiary Osaka Gas USA (OGUSA) on OGUSA’s joint venture with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, through its US subsidiary Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA), to acquire the 15.7 MWdc Brighter Future Solar Farm project in Caldwell County, North Carolina from project developer Oriden, a fully-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Power Americas. The project is expected to commence operation by the end of 2021, and will sell 100 percent of its output under a 25-year power purchase agreement to Blue Ridge Energy, a member-owned electric cooperative serving northwest North Carolina. OGUSA focuses on Freeport LNG liquefaction project, shale gas development and power generation. Tokyo M&A partner Karl Pires led the firm’s team in the transaction.
WongPartnership has acted for UOB’s first dual tranche sustainability bond offering that raised US$1.5 billion. Partner Trevor Chuan led the firm’s team in the transaction.
WongPartnership has also acted for the syndicate of lenders on the grant of the S$1.22 billion (US$900m) green loan facility to South Beach Consortium, in connection with the landmark South Beach complex. Partners Susan Wong and Bernadette Tan led the firm’s team in the transaction, together with partners Dorothy Marie Ng and Bonnie Wong.
