Allen & Gledhill has acted as transaction counsel to The Ascott, a wholly-owned lodging business unit of CapitaLand Investment, on its acquisition of Oakwood Worldwide, the hotel and serviced residence business. The transaction involved the acquisition of brand IP rights and the global operating platform of Oakwood by Ascott. Partners Richard Young, Lauren Chung, Tham Kok Leong, Liew Wan Lin, Sunit Chhabra and Elsa Chen led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Gledhill has also acted as transaction counsel to venture capital firm Accel Management, which led a series seed investment in Tokuten, a Singapore-based fintech start-up which provides digital asset management products and solutions. Partner Nicholas Soh led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Overy has advised New York-based investment advisory firm Atalaya Capital Management, as one of the lenders, on a US$150 million debt financing for Dubai-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider Tabby. The financing was jointly provided with San Francisco-based Partners for Growth, and will be used to support Tabby’s continued growth. Launched in 2020, Tabby is the largest BNPL provider in the Middle East. Tabby’s platform allows customers to purchase goods from over 3,000 global brands and small businesses, and pay later in instalments. Dubai banking partner Samer Eido led the firm’s team in the transaction, which marks one of the largest credit facilities secured by a fintech company in the Gulf Cooperation Council, and is also Atalaya Capital Management’s first deal in the Middle East.  AZB & Partners is advising BlackRock Alternatives Management LLC on the approximately Rs40 billion (US$503.4m) acquisition by its affiliate, BlackRock Alternatives Management Ltd, of equity stake...

Allen & Gledhill has advised Rimorchiatori Mediterranei (RMED), a leading harbour towage operator headquartered in Italy and subsidiary of Rimorchiatori Riuniti Group, on its 100 percent acquisition of Keppel Smit Towage and Maju Maritime. The transaction was signed in November 2021 after a highly competitive bidding process, and closed in June 2022 after obtaining approval from the Singapore Maritime Port Authority. Following completion of the transaction, RMED became the third-largest towage operator in the world. Partners Teoh Sze Min and Jonathan Choo led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Gledhill has also acted as transaction counsel to Vulcan Capital Singapore Greenhouse, which co-led the US$8 million pre-Series A funding round in WatchTowr, a local start-up focused on providing cyber security technology and consultancy services. Partner Nicholas Soh led the firm’s team in the transaction. Ashurst has advised Guangzhou Development District Investment Group (GDDIG) on its debut issuance of offshore bonds in the aggregate principal amount of US$400 million. The bonds are listed in Hong Kong, Chongwa (Macao) and Singapore. The firm advised the issuer on English law, as well as the listing agent for the HK and Macao listings of the bonds. The net proceeds from the issuance will be used to finance eligible sustainability projects of the issuer group and for related working capital purpose. GDDIG is a leading state-owned industrial investment and operation platform in Guangzhou Development District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, and is the only transportation infrastructure investment and construction platform in the Guangzhou Development District. The bonds are being issued as “sustainability bonds” under the sustainable finance framework. This is the first offshore US$...

Allen & Gledhill has acted as transaction counsel to B Capital Group on its investment in the US$60 million Series C funding round of Fazz Financial Group. Fazz is a fintech group formed in 2020 after Payfazz invested in Xfers, a Singapore-based fintech company providing payments solutions and infrastructure in Indonesia and Singapore. Payfazz is an Indonesian fintech platform operating a branchless banking agent network that distributes financial services to the unbanked in Indonesia. Partner Julian Ho led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Gledhill has also advised JP Morgan (SEA) and UBS Singapore Branch, as the joint issue managers, on the secondary listing of Emperador in Singapore. Emperador is a leading global integrated manufacturer, bottler and distributor of brandy, Scotch whisky and other alcoholic beverages, with a market capitalisation of approximately US$5.2 billion, as of June 20, 2022, and whose shares are primary listed in the Philippines. Partners Tan Tze Gay and Rhys Goh led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Overy is advising Uni-President Enterprises and President Chain Store on the acquisition of a 60 percent majority stake in Carrefour Taiwan from the Carrefour Group, Uni-President’s long-term joint venture partner. Uni-President is a food and retail conglomerate based in Taiwan with a particularly strong footprint in Asia. Both Uni-President Enterprises and President Chain Store are listed in Taiwan. PresiCarre is a joint venture established by Euronext-listed Carrefour and Uni-President in 1987 that introduced hypermarkets to Taiwan under the Carrefour brand, which has proceeded to become one of the leaders in the retail sector in Taiwan. The transaction values Carrefour Taiwan at over US$2 billion enterprise...

Allen & Gledhill has acted as transaction counsel to Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) on its S$330 million (US$237m) acquisition of an additional 3.78 percent stake in Thailand-listed Intouch Holdings. Singtel’s acquisition was made via its wholly-owned subsidiary Singtel Global Investment, while the seller of the stake in Intouch Holdings is Anderton Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek. Partners Christian Chin, Yap Lune Teng and Sunit Chhabra led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Gledhill has also acted as transaction counsel to the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on the issue of S$1.1 billion (US$719m) fixed rate green notes due 2027, under its S$32 billion (US$23b) multicurrency medium term note programme. The issue was HDB’s second issuance of green bonds, proceeds of which are to be used to finance or refinance eligible green projects under the Project Category of Green Buildings, and for such other purposes, as set out in HBD’s Green Finance Framework. Partners Margaret Chin, Fabian Tan and Sunit Chhabra led the firm’s team in the transaction. Ashurst has advised Citibank Hong Kong Branch, as the senior noteholder, on establishing a securitisation warehouse facility backed by small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) loans originated by one of Singapore’s leading SME digital financing and credit investment platforms. In Asia, receivables, especially those relating loans to SMEs originated on digital lending platforms, are fast becoming a popular form of asset-backed lending / securitised assets. SMEs make up more than 96 percent of all Asian businesses, but they face challenges getting access to finance. Securitization plays a significant role in allowing digital lending platforms to raise capital to address this unmet need. Singapore...

Allen & Gledhill has advised Genius Group on its IPO and listing in New York, which raised gross proceeds of US$19.6 million. Partner Leonard Ching led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Gledhill has also acted as transaction counsel to MTC Japan Investment and CapitaLand Investment on the divestment of 100 percent of the issued share capital in Southernwood Property to CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) and CapitaLand Open End Real Estate Fund FCP-RAIF. The agreed property value was S$1.26 billion (US$898m). The divestment was completed on April 27, 2022. After completion of the divestment, Southernwood Property owns the property located at 79 Robinson Road known as CapitaSky, a Grade A office building located in Singapore’s central business district. Partners Eudora Tan, Foong Yuen Ping, Lim Mei Ann and Teh Hoe Yue led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Overy has advised TECOM Group, the owner, manager and operator of ten strategic, sector-focused business districts across Dubai, on its IPO and listing in Dubai Financial Market. TECOM Group provides high-quality real estate products and value-added services, contributing to the growth and development of six vital non-oil sectors, including technology, media, science, education, design and manufacturing. The IPO, which comprised a sale of existing shares by TECOM Group’s shareholder, DHAM, raised approximately Dh1.7 billion (US$463m), and drew substantial demand from regional and international investors. The offering was oversubscribed over 21 times, with the UAE retail offer achieving a remarkable oversubscription multiple of almost 40 times, surpassing any IPO on the DFM. Abu Dhabi partner Khalid Garousha and US securities partner Adam Wells led the firm’s cross border team in the transaction....