Wragge & Co has advised on the A400M defence procurement in Europe. Working with ‘Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement’ (OCCAR), the firm advised on the re-negotiation of a ground-breaking €20 billion contract for the development and supply of up to 170 A400M military transport aircraft from Airbus Military S.L.

Dewey & LeBoeuf has advised ONGC Videsh Ltd. (“OVL”), the international projects arm of India’s national oil & gas company, on a strategic new partnership to develop a block in the Kazakhstan sector of the Caspian Sea.

The ProSiebenSat.1 group has sold its TV and print activities in the Netherlands and its TV business in Belgium. The businesses will be acquired by a consortium between Sanoma Corporation and Talpa Holding NV regarding the Dutch assets and between Sanoma Corporation, Corelio N.V. and Waterman & Waterman CVA in Belgium.The enterprise value underlying the transaction totals EUR 1.225 billion. The transaction in the Netherlands is subject to the approvals by the competent antitrust authorities. The other business activities of the ProSiebenSat.1 group in the Netherlands and Belgium including the production sector are not part of the transaction.

On April 18, Willkie client France Telecom-Orange and Deutsche Telekom announced their plan to form a 50/50 procurement joint venture that is expected to result in a combined savings of a about €1.3 billion after three years of implementation. The agreement calls for combining the two companies’ procurement activities of customer equipment, network equipment, service platforms and IT infrastructure. France Telecom-Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with 169,000 employees worldwide and sales of €45.5 billion in 2010.

Holland & Knight is currently representing the Jicarilla Apache Nation before the U.S. Supreme Court in a high-profile breach of trust case against the United States. The main issue is whether the federal government can claim “attorney-client privilege” to withhold from an Indian tribe information regarding the government’s administration of money that it holds in trust for the tribe.

Herbert Smith has advised a new FTSE-listed client, Cineworld Group plc (Cineworld) on its recently concluded £170 million sterling term and multicurrency revolving facilities agreement.

International law firm Clifford Chance advised Sanoma on the acquisition of the SBS free-to-air TV assets in the Netherlands and Belgium from ProSiebenSat.1 together with a strong consortium of local partners.

The merger announced today, will see Yorkshire Building Society, the UK’s second largest building society with assets exceeding £30bn join forces with N&P, the UK’s ninth largest society with assets of £3.7bn. The proposed merger will create an enlarged Society with three million members and 224 branches and is expected to complete on 1 November 2011.

Davis Polk advised two DLJ South American Partners investment funds in connection with the sale of a total of 16,561,498 Class A shares of Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc., for approximately US$281 million, in an SEC-registered initial public offering. The selling shareholders also included Capital International Private Equity Fund V, L.P. and Gavea Investment AD, L.P.