Simpson Thacher represented the initial purchasers, led by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, in connection with a 144A/Regulation S offering by Stena AB (publ) (“Stena”) of $600 million aggregate principal amount of 7.00% Senior Notes due 2024. This offering closed on January 23, 2014.

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Linklaters has advised Noble Group Limited (“Noble Group”) on the acquisition of 51% of Noble Agri Limited (“Noble Agri”) by COFCO Corporation (“COFCO”) to establish a 51%/49% joint venture.

Noble Agri will become the principal international origination platform for COFCO, with its upstream origination and trading operations linked to the downstream processing and distribution capabilities of COFCO and its affiliates in China to create a fully integrated value chain, consistent with COFCO’s strategy.

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Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd and Willkie client SPARTA Insurance Holdings, Inc. recently announced a definitive agreement under which Catalina will acquire SPARTA. Following the closing of the transaction, Catalina plans to place some of Sparta’s business into run off and to transfer SPARTA’s alternative market business to Arch Insurance Company under a separate renewal rights agreement. With total assets of $911 million (as of 12/31/2013), Hartford, CT-based Sparta focuses mainly on specialty program and risk transfer alternatives in the United States. Catalina is a long-term consolidator in the non-life insurance/reinsurance run-off sector.

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The Firm represented Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BBVA Securities Inc., Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA), Inc., Mizuho Securities USA Inc. and other underwriters in connection with a $2.5 billion offering of debt securities by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

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The Firm represented La Quinta Holdings Inc. in connection with its initial public offering of 43,987,500 shares of common stock (including shares sold pursuant to the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares) at a public offering price of $17.00 per share. La Quinta’s common stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “LQ” on April 9, 2014. The underwriting syndicate was led by J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley.

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Olshan client GenCorp Inc., a leading manufacturer of aerospace and defense products, announced that it entered into a $100 million subordinated credit facility, which will be used for a variety of purposes.  Steve Wolosky, Jeffrey Spindler, Yehuda Markovits and Jason Saltsberg represented GenCorp in this matter.

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Paul, Weiss client Bauer Performance Sports Ltd., a leading developer and manufacturer of high performance sports equipment and apparel, announced the official closing with Easton-Bell Sports, now officially known as BRG Sports, Inc., to acquire the Easton Baseball/Softball business for $330 million in an all-cash transaction. The acquisition greatly enhances the company’s performance sports platform by adding Easton, the world’s leading and most iconic diamond sports brand, to the other strong brands in the BPS portfolio, including Bauer, Mission, Maverik, Cascade, Inaria and Combat. It also adds valuable intellectual property to BPS and provides a significant counter-seasonal business to the company’s existing revenue stream.

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A Weil team is advising Eli Lilly and Company in its agreement to acquire Novartis Animal Health for approximately $5.4 billion in an all-cash transaction that is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2015, subject to regulatory and other customary closing conditions. Upon completion of the acquisition, Elanco, Lilly’s own animal health business, will be the second-largest animal health company in terms of global revenue. More >>

After three years of highly complex negotiations, Algerian Fonds National d’Investissement (FNI), a strategic investment fund controlled by the Algerian State, signed a Share Purchase Agreement related to the acquisition of a 51% stake in Orascom Télécom Algérie SpA (“OTA” or “Djezzy”) from Global Telecom Holding SAE (“GTH,” formerly Orascom Telecom Holding SAE), a majority-owned subsidiary of Russian company VimpelCom Ltd, for a purchase consideration of US$2.643 billion.

FNI and GTH also agreed to enter into a Shareholders Agreement (“the Shareholders Agreement”), which will become effective upon the closing of the transaction, and will govern the parties’ relationships as shareholders in OTA.

Djezzy is the leading mobile network operator in Algeria. The company offers a wide range of services, pre-paid or post-paid, encompassing voice, data and multimedia. Djezzy’s 2013 revenue amounted to US$1.796 billion, with a 2013 EBITDA of US$1.055 billion. As of December 31, 2013, the company’s network included over 17 million subscribers, which makes it the leading mobile phone operator in the country.

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Cahill represented J.P. Morgan and Barclays as joint book-running managers in connection with the Rule 144A offering of £165,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 7% Senior Secured Notes due 2020 by ghd Bondco plc. Proceeds from the offering were used to refinance existing indebtedness. More >>