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, 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 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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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 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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Skadden is advising Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. on the antitrust aspects of the $1.4 billion sale of its filler and toxin treatments to Nestlé S.A., announced May 28.
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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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Foley & Lardner LLP is pleased to announce that Joel C. Solomon and a team of Foley real estate attorneys, including Doug Buck, have completed the sale of thirteen separate premier multifamily properties on behalf of ST Residential, LLC, the managing member of Corus Construction Venture, LLC. The latest closing, which occurred on May 16, 2014 was Apex, a luxury residential tower located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles at 9th and Figueroa Street, containing 271 units, a parking garage with approximately six hundred spaces, approximately ten thousand square feet of retail space, and a significant adjacent parcel. With the sale of Apex, the gross sales proceeds from all of the ST multifamily portfolio approximate $900,000,000.
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A team of lawyers from K&L Gates has advised the shareholders of Scott’s Refrigerated Freightways (SRF) (including JAT Refrigerated Road Services) in the sale of the business to Automotive Holding Group Limited (AHG), an ASX 200 listed company, for AUD115 million.
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Allen & Overy said today the USD5.5 billion STAR Rafineri underlined growing demand from lenders to participate in Turkish infrastructure and energy financings. Please enter ByLine.