Element’s $1.4 Billion Acquisition of PHH Corporation’s North American Fleet Management Business

Element Financial Corporation, one of North America’s leading equipment finance companies, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire PHH Arval, the North American fleet management services business of PHH Corporation, for approximately US$1.4 billion in cash. Cravath represented Element in connection with this transaction, which is expected to close by July 31 and is subject to customary closing conditions.

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Linklaters advises Merrill Lynch International and J.P. Morgan on the sale by Wendel of 24 million shares in Saint-Gobain

Linklaters advised Merrill Lynch International and J.P. Morgan in the context of the disposal by Wendel, a listed investment company, of 24 million shares which Wendel held in Saint-Gobain, the world leader in the building materials and construction. This disposal represents approximately 4.3% of the total share capital of Saint-Gobain, with a value of around one billion euro.

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Milbank Represents Underwriters in $2B Offering by Colombia’s Ecopetrol

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP represented underwriters Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank Securities in a $2 billion issuance of 31-year notes by leading Colombian oil and gas company Ecopetrol SA.  It’s the second multi-billion dollar debt offering by Ecopetrol since last September, another sign of surging investor interest in Colombia, which recently overtook Argentina as South America’s second-largest economy.

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Perkins Coie Represents Strategic Hotels & Resorts In Closing of $120 Million Loan Secured by Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel

Perkins Coie represented client Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:BEE), a real estate investment trust (REIT) which owns and provides value enhancing asset management of high-end hotels and resorts in the United States and Europe, in the closing of a $120 million limited recourse loan secured by the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel replacing the $110 million financing previously encumbering the property.

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American Realty Capital Healthcare REIT Acquired by Ventas for $2.6 Billion

Global law firm Proskauer advised American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCT) in its agreement under which Ventas will acquire all of the outstanding shares of ARC Healthcare in a stock and cash transaction valued at $2.6 billion. The acquisition expands Ventas’s medical office buildings (MOBs) footprint with the addition of four million square feet of high-quality assets in attractive markets. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014, subject to the approval of ARC Healthcare shareholders and customary closing conditions. Following the closing of the merger Ventas is expected to become the 6th largest overall REIT in the country.

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Simpson Thacher Represents AVIC Electromechanical Systems in its Acquisition of Hilite International

Simpson Thacher is representing AVIC Electromechanical Systems Co., Ltd. (“AVICEM”) in connection with its acquisition of Hilite International, a leading global supplier of highly engineered automotive engine and transmission components.  AVICEM is a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China, one of the largest industrial conglomerates in China.  The transaction values Hilite International at approximately €473 million (US$645 million).  The closing of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. 
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Squire Sanders and Patton Boggs Complete Combination

One of the world’s most comprehensive legal platforms launches today as Squire Sanders and Patton Boggs combine to create Squire Patton Boggs. Squire Patton Boggs draws together the heritage, strength, reputation and resources of the legacy firms to create a new, integrated law firm with unparalleled local connections and global influence.

The combined firm offers clients one of the legal industry’s most robust offerings with over 1,500 lawyers spanning 44 offices in 21 countries. This places Squire Patton Boggs among the top 25 firms globally in terms of lawyer headcount, and eighth by number of countries occupied, as per The American Lawyer 2013 Global 100. The firm also ranks as one of the top 10 largest firms in Washington DC and among the largest in the United States.
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