Shearman & Sterling represented Legg Mason, Inc. as issuer in connection with the filing of a shelf registration statement and a shelf takedown of $400,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 5.625% Senior Notes due 2044.

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Global legal practice Norton Rose Fulbright advised Green Eagle Holdings Pte Ltd on a US$120 million syndicated term loan and revolving facility with, amongst others, ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Singapore Branch, as co-ordinating lender, bookrunning mandated lead arranger, facility agent and security agent.

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Shearman & Sterling has advised a consortium of banks led by Commerzbank on the EUR 310 million refinancing of IVG Cavern Fund’s institutional fund. The IVG Cavern Fund was launched in 2008 by real estate investor IVG and holds 70 oil and gas caverns in Etzel near Wilhelmshaven.

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The Firm recently represented funds affiliated with First Reserve in connection with the $310 million initial public offering of CHC Group Ltd.  CHC Group’s ordinary shares began trading on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “HELI” on January 17, 2014. CHC is the world’s largest commercial operator of helicopters, with revenue of $1.7 billion in fiscal 2013.

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On January 22, VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, and AirWatch, the leading provider of enterprise mobile management and security solutions, announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which VMware will acquire AirWatch for approximately $1.175 billion in cash and approximately $365 million of installment payments and assumed unvested equity. Willkie represented AirWatch investors Insight Venture Partners and Accel Partners, who teamed up last year to invest in the company, in connection with the sale as well as the 2013 investment. The deal is expected to provide customers with the most complete solution to manage users, devices and applications across desktop and mobile environments.

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Veirano Advogados has acted as deal counsel in simultaneous notes issuances by Brazilian telecoms company Embratel and its subsidiary, satellite services company Star One, collectively worth some US$1.5 billion. The Rio de Janeiro-based telecoms company issued notes worth US$1.2 billion, while its subsidiary’s issuance was for US$297 million. More >>

Skadden is representing State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company in the $1.5 billion sale of its Canadian insurance businesses and financial services companies to affiliates of Desjardins Group, announced on January 15. This is the first M&A transaction in State Farm’s 92-year history. More >>

On January 23, 2014, IBM and Lenovo announced a definitive agreement in which Lenovo plans to acquire IBM’s x86 server business for a purchase price of approximately US$2.3 billion, approximately two billion of which will be paid in cash and the balance in Lenovo stock. Cravath represented IBM in connection with this transaction. The x86 server business includes System x, BladeCenter and Flex System blade servers and switches, x86‑based Flex integrated systems, NeXtScale and iDataPlex servers and associated software, blade networking and maintenance operations. The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of regulatory requirements, customary closing conditions and any other needed approvals.

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Skadden is representing Cementos Argos S.A. in its $720 million acquisition of Vulcan Materials Company’s cement and concrete businesses in Florida, announced on January 23. More >>

Litigators from Beveridge & Diamond’s Washington and Baltimore offices won approval of a major Clean Water Act consent decree over the objections of environmental groups.  On January 6, 2014 Judge George Marovich of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a historic consent decree between the United States, Illinois, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC or the District) to govern the ongoing Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP), a multi-billion dollar project to improve stormwater control and wastewater management throughout metropolitan Chicago.   The ruling comes after 7 years of consent decree negotiation with the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Justice, and the State of Illinois, and 3 years of aggressive litigation brought by several environmental groups that sought more work than called for in the decree. Benjamin F. Wilson, Richard Davis and Sarah Albert lead the multi-office team from Beveridge & Diamond that represents MWRDGC regarding the consent decree and the litigation.

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