Covington & Burling represented Gannett Co., Inc. in obtaining Federal Communications Commission approval of its acquisition of Belo Corp. Completed today, the $2.2 billion transaction nearly doubles the broadcast television portfolio of Gannett. More >>

Ballard Spahr advised contact lens and eyewear retailer 1-800-Contacts in its sale by WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE:WLP), to private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. The firm also advised the company in the sale of its glasses.com website and virtual try-on technology to Luxottica Group, the Italian eyewear company. The transactions are expected to close in the first quarter of 2014 pending customary regulatory approval. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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The investment funds team at Lawrence Graham has advised GCP Sovereign Infrastructure Debt Limited on its initial public offering, raising U.S.$125 million by way of a placing and offer for subscription.  GCP Sovereign Infrastructure Debt Limited’s shares were admitted to trading on the Specialist Fund Market of the London Stock Exchange in late December 2013. More >>

Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas, a leading Mountain West regional firm, announces the addition of Bradley Richardson who recently joined the firm’s Las Vegas office. Richardson practices in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Professional Liability and Estate Planning and Probate.

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International law firm Clifford Chance advised The Carlyle Group on the first two investments by Carlyle International Energy Partners (CIEP), a newly established fund that focuses on oil and gas exploration and production, midstream, oil field services and refining and marketing in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia.

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Carlos Muñiz, who served as senior counsel to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and most recently was deputy state attorney general, has joined McGuireWoods Consulting as a senior vice president and as a partner in the law firm of McGuireWoods LLP.

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Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, announced today that it represented Royal Bank of Canada as agent and the lead arrangers RBC Capital Markets, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, TD Securities (USA) LLC and Mizuho Bank, LTD., in connection with the refinancing and upsize of Garda World Security Corporation’s existing credit facility. More >>

Andrea Barach has joined Baker Donelson as a shareholder and a member of the Firm’s Business Department.

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Allen & Overy announced today that Heath Tarbert and Gordon Miller have joined the Washington, D.C. office as partner and senior counsel, respectively, in its leading U.S. financial services regulatory practice.

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Addleshaw Goddard has announced the arrival of commercial litigation expert Bill Gilliam from Eversheds. The hire is part of the firm’s strategy to strengthen its core offering in Leeds as well as investing in its capability to handle large complex disputes in the healthcare sector in particular, and also in the IT, public and public procurement sectors.

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