Clifford Chance advises Shell on the sale of its Retail, Supply & Distribution, Logistics and Aviation businesses in Italy to Kuwait Petroleum International

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance announces it has advised Shell on an agreement in the sale of shares in the companies containing the Retail, Supply & Distribution, Logistics and Aviation businesses in Italy to the affiliates of Kuwait Petroleum International. Shell’s retail network includes over 830 retail sites and under the agreement it will be re-branded to Q8. The sale is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete in 2014.

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On February 19, 2014, Signet Jewelers Limited, the largest specialty retail jeweler in the U.S. and the UK, and Zale Corporation, a leading specialty retailer of fine jewelry in North America, announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Signet to acquire all of the issued and outstanding stock of Zale for $21.00 per share in cash consideration, representing an enterprise value of approximately US$1.4 billion. Cravath represented Zale in connection with this transaction, which is subject to Zale stockholder approval, certain regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

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Davis Polk is advising J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as financial adviser to Signet Jewelers Limited in connection with its approximately $1.4 billion acquisition of Zale Corporation. The transaction is subject to approval by Zale’s stockholders, certain regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

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Dentons acted as legal counsel to Bank Polska Kasa Opieki S.A., Bank Handlowy w Warszawie S.A., BRE Bank S.A., ING Bank Śląski S.A. on the PLN 495 million (approx. US$162 million) multipurpose financing to Inter Cars S.A., the biggest automotive spare parts distributor for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and trucks in Middle-Eastern Europe.

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Flybe is Europe’s largest independent regional airline and the proceeds of the fundraising will be used to build resilience within the business and to drive profitable growth.

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Orrick is advising FFP and its controlling company, Etablissements Peugeot Frères (“EPF”), the holding company of the Peugeot family, in a $4.1 billion capital investment in Peugeot SA, one of the world’s oldest car makers. Dongfeng Motor Group Company Limited, Peugeot’s historical manufacturing and sales partner in China (“Dongfeng”) and the French State will each contribute $1.1 billion to Peugeot, with the remaining balance being raised by Peugeot in a rights offering. Existing shareholders will also receive free warrants entitling them to subscribe to new shares in the company. FFP/EPF, Dongfeng and the French State will each own a matching 14 percent equity interest in the company at completion.

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A Weil team is advising Signet Jewelers Limited, the largest specialty retail jeweler in the US and the UK, in the company’s $1.4 billion acquisition of Zale Corporation, a leading specialty retailer of fine jewelry in North America. The transaction is subject to stockholder approval, certain regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. More >>

Linklaters has advised the Belgian Belfius Bank NV/SA in relation to the establishment of a Programme for the issuance of German registered covered bonds (Namensschuldverschreibungen or “N-bonds”) under Belfius’ €10,000,000,000 Mortgage Pandbrieven Programme. Investors in the N-bonds benefit from a dual recourse: on the one hand, they have recourse against a pool of cover assets segregated for the benefit of the investors under the Programme; on the other hand, they have recourse against the general estate of the Issuer. The N-bonds are registered covered bonds governed by German law, which also take advantage of the Belgian covered bond regime.

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Watson, Farley & Williams („WFW“), a leading international law firm, is pleased to announce that it has advised Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (”CIP“) in relation to its joint venture with TenneT Holding B.V. (”TenneT“) regarding the offshore grid connection DolWin3, which will transmit wind energy from the North Sea to German customers.

DolWin3 will transmit electricity to the mainland from a number of wind farms in the German North Sea and is expected to be completed in 2017. The transmission system will have a total capacity of 900 MW.

The investment in DolWin3 is a joint venture between CIP and TenneT. CIP is investing €384 million through a separate investment company (CI Artemis K/S), with PensionDanmark acting as the investor. TenneT will finance the remainder of the total construction costs, which are expected to amount to €1.9 billion. TenneT, one of the largest electricity transmission system operators in Europe and owned by the Dutch state, will build and operate DolWin3.

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Weil is serving as antitrust counsel to Forest Laboratories, a leading, fully integrated, specialty pharmaceutical company largely focused on the United States market, in its acquisition by Actavis, a global, integrated specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and distributing generic, brand and biosimilar products. The transaction is valued at approximately $25 billion and if successfully completed, the transaction will combine two of the world’s fastest-growing specialty pharmaceutical companies. More >>