Allen & Gledhill has acted as transaction counsel for Digital Core REIT Management on the US$977 million IPO of Digital Core REIT. The firm was also appointed as Singapore independent tax adviser for the IPO. Digital Core REIT holds a portfolio of ten institutional quality, 100 percent freehold data centres located in the US and Canada, with an appraised value of approximately US$1.3 billion. It is the only pure-play data centre Singapore REIT sponsored by a global-listed data centre owner and operator, Digital Realty. The IPO was strongly supported by 26 cornerstone investors, and was 19.4 times over-subscribed. This is the largest IPO of 2021 in Singapore, and is the first time a Singapore REIT acquired any investment located in Canada. In relation to the IPO, the firm also acted as Singapore counsel for Digital Core REIT Management on the grant of US$550 million term and revolving credit facilities. Partners Jerry Koh, Teh Hoe Yue, Lim Pek Bur and Ong Kangxin led the firm’s team in the transactions. Allen & Gledhill has also acted as transaction counsel for Haiyi Treasure on the S$492.8 million (US$360m) voluntary conditional cash offer made by United Overseas Bank, for and on behalf of Haiyi Treasure, for all the shares in SingHaiyi Group. Partner Lee Kee Yeng led the firm’s team in the transaction. AZB & Partners has advised SCI Growth Investments III, a private equity fund managed by Sequoia Capital, on Sequoia Capital’s Rs5.6 billion (US$74m) acquisition, along with other investors, of equity stake in Manash Lifestyle, which provides online personal care products distribution services on Purplle.com, among other businesses. Partners Gautam Saha and...

Featured Deals Kudun and Partners has acted as lead counsel to Hatton Equity on the β2.38 billion (US$71m) proposed acquisition of shares in DRJL Group, a renowned cosmetic brand which manufactures and distributes products under the brand name “Dr. Jill”. The proposed transaction involves the merger acquisition and project financing from the offshore lender. Partners Kongkoch Yongsavasdikul and Mayuree Sapsutthiporn led the firm’s team in the transaction. Kudun and Partners has also represented Giztix on the series B fund raising led by Bualuang Ventures and WHA Group, with total funding of more than β260 million (US$7.7m), to develop the startup’s technology and transportation services, expand its network to provide pan-country logistics services, and invest in marketing and sales. Giztix is an online logistics marketplace that gathers transporters for shippers for various types of full truck load services, imports and exports. Partner Kongkoch Yongsavasdikul led the firm’s team in the transaction.   Allen & Gledhill has acted as transaction counsel to ARA Asset Management on its US$1 billion sustainability-linked loan facilities from DBS Bank (DBS), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Singapore Branch (SMBC), Malayan Banking Singapore Branch, The Bank of East Asia Singapore Branch and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank. DBS, OCBC and SMBC were appointed sustainability advisors, and DBS was also appointed facility agent. This is the first sustainability-linked loan for ARA, and one of the largest sustainability-linked loans for real estate asset management companies in Singapore. The facility is also the largest facility to be pegged to the Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA). Partners Jafe Ng and Ong Kangxin led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Gledhill has also acted as transaction counsel to...

Allen & Gledhill has advised DBS Group Holdings on the issue of US$700 million 1.169 percent notes due 2024, and US$300 million floating rate notes due 2024, under its US$30 billion global medium term note program. DBS Bank was appointed sole global coordinator for the notes. Partner Glenn Foo led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Gledhill has also advised Housing and Development Board on the issue of S$1 billion (US$731m) 1.645 percent fixed rate notes due 2026, under its S$32 billion (US$23.4b) multicurrency medium term note program. Partners Margaret Chin and Sunit Chhabra led the firm’s team in the transaction. Ashurst, together with its Singapore formal law alliance Ashurst ADTLaw, has advised DBS Bank and United Overseas Bank, as mandated lead arrangers, lenders and hedging banks (and the related agency functions), on their S$86.8 million (US$63.4m) green loan financing of a portfolio of rooftop solar projects developed under the SolarNova 4 program. The SolarNova program is a whole-of-government effort led by Singapore’s Housing & Development Board and Economic Development Board to promote and aggregate demand for solar PV systems to achieve economies of scale and drive growth for Singapore’s solar industry. SolarNova 4, the fourth phase of the program, is the first project in the SolarNova program to be project- financed. It is a complex project involving approximately 40 different component sub-projects, each with its own power purchase agreement, across more than 1,200 public housing blocks and 49 government sites, with counterparties comprising a number of key Singapore ministries and statutory bodies, with the power produced to be used via a mix of on-site consumption and...

DEALS Allen & Gledhill has acted as transaction counsel to Beacon Venture Capital, a wholly-owned corporate venture capital fund of Kasikornbank, on its investment into Ficus Asia Investment. Alongside the investment, Kasikornbank affiliate Kasikorn Vision entered into a collaboration agreement with Ficus, under which such partnership will provide merchants and consumers in Vietnam with financial services, including payment solutions, SME lending and other adjacent services, such as insurance and wealth management. This takes place as Ficus continues to cement its position as the leading New Retail ecosystem in Vietnam, spanning across New Retail technology solutions, F&B, fashion, groceries and other consumer products. Managing partner Oh Hsiu-Hau (Vietnam) and partners Tran Thi Phuong Thao (Vietnam) and Alexander Yap (Singapore) led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Gledhill has also advised Asia Partners, as the lead investor, on the US$65.7 million Series C financing round of Doctor Anywhere, a regional tech-enabled, omnichannel healthcare company. Headquartered in Singapore and with a presence in six countries across the region, Doctor Anywhere currently serves more than 1.5 million users across Southeast Asia. This Series C financing round brings the total capital raised by Doctor Anywhere to more than S$140 million (US$102.5m), making it one of the largest private funding rounds raised by a healthtech company in Southeast Asia. Partners Koh En Ying and Eugene Ho led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Overy has advised the joint lead managers on the multi-tranche Reg S offering of €4 billion (US$4.5b) sovereign bonds by China’s Ministry of Finance. The issuance comprises three tranches:  €1.5 billion (US$1.7b) zero coupon three-year bonds, €1.5 billion...

Allen & Gledhill has advised CLI Treasury and CapitaLand Investment on the establishment of a S$6 billion (US$4.4b) euro medium term note program by CLI Treasury, pursuant to which CLI Treasury may issue notes, including perpetual notes, from time to time. Notes issued under the program will be guaranteed by CapitaLand Investment. Partners Tan Tze Gay, Wu Zhaoqi and Sunit Chhabra led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Gledhill is also advising PropertyGuru on its US$1.78 billion proposed listing in New York, through a business combination with Bridgetown 2 Holdings, a NASDAQ-listed special purpose acquisition company. Partners Hilary Low, Richard Young and Chong Zhuo Chen led the firm’s team in the transaction. Allen & Overy has advised Exploration and Production (PTTEP), Thailand’s national petroleum exploration and production company, on the establishment of its medium-term note program and public offering of digital bonds under the program, valued at β6 billion (US$183m) in what is Asia’s first fully-digitalised corporate bond via a digital wallet. PTTEP’s digital bonds were issued in cooperation with Krungthai Bank, Thailand’s second largest commercial bank by assets, which acted as sole lead arranger on the transaction. They were made available for purchase on Krungthai’s ‘Pao Tang’ mobile application, which is Thailand’s largest electronic financial platform/digital wallet with more than 33 million active users. The issuance also marks the first time in the region that a corporate bond offered in the primary market can be traded anywhere and at any time into cash in the secondary market, via a digital wallet. The ‘Pao Tang’ mobile application is designed as an ‘open digital platform’ and can be used by...