AZB & Partners is advising Metro as co-counsel on the Rs29 billion (US$350m) acquisition of Metro Cash & Carry India by Reliance Retail Ventures, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. Partners Zia Mody, Aditya Vikram Bhat and Bhuvana Veeraragavan are leading the firm’s team in the transaction, which was signed on December 22, 2022 and is yet to be completed. AZB & Partners is also advising Olive Vine Investment, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, and Avanse Financial Services on the Rs8 billion (US$96.5m) acquisition by Kedaara Capital Growth Fund III of equity stake in Avanse Financial Services. Partner Vaidhyanadhan Iyer is leading the firm’s team in the transaction, which was signed on December 28, 2022 and is yet to be completed. Clifford Chance has advised chemical enterprise Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong on its global depository receipts offering and listing in Switzerland, via the China-Europe Stock Connect scheme. The GDR offering is expected to raise gross proceeds of approximately US$718 million. Partners Fang Liu and Jean Thio, supported by London partner Christopher Roe on the depositary agreements and related GDR arrangement, led the firm’s cross-border team in the transaction. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has advised Jefferies India, as the broker, on the block sale of equity shares of Ajanta Pharma by Ravi Agrawal Trust and Aayush Agrawal Trust. The transaction involved the sale, via the Indian stock exchanges, of approximately 5.8 million equity shares of Ajanta Pharma, comprising of 1.8 million equity shares held by Ravi Agrawal Trust and approximately four million equity shares held by Aayush Agrawal Trust, for Rs6.5 billion (US$78.4m). Markets-South regional co-head partner Vijay Parthasarathi led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was...

Allen & Gledhill has acted as transaction counsel to DBS Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and The Bank of New York Mellon Hong Kong Branch on the establishment of a US$5 billion multicurrency loan programme, and the inaugural series of US$950 million dual currency term and revolving credit facilities under the Programme by Mapletree China Logistics Investment Trust, a fund sponsored by Mapletree Investments. The facilities are to finance, among other purposes, the fund’s acquisition and development of logistics real properties in China. Partner Lim Wei Ting led the firm’s team in the transaction. AZB & Partners has advised Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on its sale of 51 percent equity stake held in L&T Infrastructure Development Projects to Epic Concesiones, a portfolio company of Infrastructure Yield Plus II, an infrastructure fund managed by Edelweiss Alternatives. Partners Gautam Ganjawala and Qais Jamal led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was valued at approximately Rs27 billion (US$326m) and was completed on December 15, 2022. AZB & Partners has also advised Yes Bank on the acquisition of up to 20 percent equity stake in Yes Bank by CA Basque Investments, a fund of Carlyle Group, and Verventa Holdings, an affiliate of Advent. Partners Zia Mody, Vaidhyanadhan Iyer and Gautam Ganjawala led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was valued at approximately Rs89 billion (US$1.1b) completed on December 13, 2022. Baker McKenzie has assisted BIM Group and ACEN Corporation on successfully securing a US$107 million financing package from Asian Development Bank (ADB) for BIM Wind Power to support the operation of an 88-megawatt wind farm in Ninh Thuan Province, Vietnam. In addition,...

AZB & Partners has advised Internet Fund II, a fund managed by Tiger Global Management, on its Rs2.28 billion (US$27.6m) acquisition, along with other investors, of equity stake via Series C funding round in Solvy Tech Solutions, a provider of insurance solutions through its insurance infrastructure API, doing business as “Zopper”. Partners Ashwath Rau, Srinath Dasari, Nanditha Gopal and Aditya Singh Chandel led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on November 4, 2022. AZB & Partners has also advised HDFC Capital Advisors and one of the funds it manages, HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund-3, on the Rs16 billion (US$193m) acquisition by HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund-3 of securities in Shapoorji Pallonji Group, consisting of Delphi Properties, Gossip Properties, Palchin Real Estate, Floreat Investments, Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate and Manjri Developers. Partners Anand Shah, Ishan Handa and Shivanand Nayak led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on October 29, 2022. Baker McKenzie has advised UBS on a transnational digital securities issuance using the distributed ledger technology (DLT). The US$50 million fixed rate digital securities were placed in Singapore and Hong Kong, and issued and settled on December 15, 2022. The transaction is an issue of uncertificated securities on chain, which are constituted under English and Swiss law, and tokenized on a permissioned Ethereum-based blockchain. The digital securities are tokens, with each token representing one digital security in the form of a ledger-based security. The digital securities are intended to be immobilized, with UBS Switzerland as custodian, and issued to investors in the form of intermediated securities. The transaction represents one of the first transnational...

Allen & Gledhill has acted as transaction counsel to DBS Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, United Overseas Bank, Malayan Banking Singapore Branch, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Singapore Branch, Hong Leong Finance and China CITIC Bank International Singapore Branch, as the discharging lenders, as well as Bangkok Bank Singapore Branch and China CITIC Bank International, which, together with the discharging lenders, are the incoming lenders, on the S$3 billion (US$2.2b) secured loan facilities obtained by Perennial Shenton Property. The facilities are for, inter alia, refinancing existing loan facilities and financing the redevelopment of 8 Shenton Way. Refinancing of the existing loan facilities involved the discharge of security relating to existing loan facilities between, inter alia, Perennial and the discharging lenders. Partners Daselin Ang, Jafe Ng, Ong Kangxin and Lyn Wee led the firm’s team in the transaction, which is the largest real estate green loan facility in Asia. Allen & Gledhill has also advised Public Utilities Board on the issue of S$300 million (US$222.4m) 3.66 percent notes due 2025, under its S$10 billion (US$7.4b) multicurrency medium term note programme. Partners Margaret Chin, Fabian Tan and Sunit Chhabra are leading the firm’s team in the transaction. Ashurst has advised the senior finance parties, comprising eleven local and international commercial banks, on the handover of the approximately US$1.33 billion Singapore Sports Hub facility to the Government of Singapore, the termination of the partnership agreement between the Government and the private consortium that was running the facility, and the early payment of the senior debt. The Singapore Sports Hub is a sports and recreation district in Kallang, Singapore, which was opened to the public in 2014. The hub is...

Allen & Overy has advised Abu Dhabi Ports Group on its acquisition of Spanish logistics firm Noatum for AED2.5 billion (US$681m). The acquisition propels AD Ports Group to one of the most significant logistics and freight forwarding companies in the world. The investment in Noatum, which has over 2,600 employees and operates in 26 countries, including Spain, the US, the UK and other Asian and European markets, will significantly extend AD Group’s global connectivity to create a market-leading international logistics brand. Moving forward, Noatum will lead AD Ports Group’s Logistics Cluster, consolidating the company’s existing logistics offering into its operations. This marks the group’s third major international acquisition this year, following the acquisition of a 70 percent stake in Transmar and TCI in September, and the acquisition of 80 percent stake in Dubai-based Global Feeder Shipping this month. Abu Dhabi managing partner Ibrahim Mubaydeen, Abu Dhabi corporate partner Nick Stuart and Spanish corporate partner Fernando Torrente led the firm’s team in the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first half of next year. AZB & Partners has advised Perfect Day on its approximately Rs6.5 billion (US$79m) acquisition of Sterling Biotech. Partners Hardeep Sachdeva, Ravi Bhasin, Kamal Shankar and Parag Maini led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on November 11, 2022. AZB & Partners has also advised Sukoon Healthcare Services on the approximately Rs1.2 billion (US$14.5m) acquisition by Lightrock India, via LR India Fund II IFSC, of a significant controlling stake in Sukoon Healthcare Services. Partner Ankit Tandon led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed...