Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Istrabenz d.d., a financial holding company based in Slovenia, on its €382 million sale of Ljubljana based Droga Kolinska d.d., a Southeastern European food and beverage company, to Atlantic Grupa, a Croatian food and healthcare company.

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Clifford Chance has today announced its intention to extend further its business in the dynamic Turkish market and across South Eastern Europe with the opening of an office in Istanbul.  The office will operate in cooperation with Yegin Legal Consultancy (YLC), Clifford Chance’s well-respected associate Turkish law firm, headed by Mete Yegin.  London-based Finance partner, Simon Williams will lead the Firm’s practice in Turkey.

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Davis Polk advised Odebrecht Drilling Norbe VIII/IX Ltd., a wholly owned project finance subsidiary of Odebrecht Óleo e Gás S.A. (OOG), in connection with its US$1.5 billion offering of 6.35% senior secured notes due 2021, which were issued pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S under the Securities Act. The note proceeds will be used to pay for the construction of two deep-sea drillships, which will be chartered to Brazil’s state-owned oil company, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) and operated by OOG.

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Shearman & Sterling represented Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. as representatives of the several underwriters in connection with Lowe’s Companies, Inc.’s public offering of its $475 million of 2.125% Notes due 2016 and $525 million of its 3.750% Notes due 2021. Lowe’s is the second largest home improvement retailer in the world.

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Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentina (BBVA) on the purchase of 24.9% of Turkey’s leading bank, Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS, for €4.2 billion ($5.9 billion).

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FC Barcelona’s board of directors today agreed to entrust Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira with the lawsuit it filed against the former board of directors because of the club’s losses. The law firm will also advise FC Barcelona in the lawsuit the former directors have filed against the Assembly.

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The Herbert Smith Asian energy team advised PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) as international legal counsel on its acquisition of a 40% stake in the Kai Kos Dehseh Oil Sands Project (KKD) in Canada. The transaction was completed through the purchase of 40% of the partnership units of Statoil Canada Partnership (SCP) for a total consideration of US$ 2.28 billion on 22 November 2010.

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Shearman & Sterling represented Morgan & Stanley Co. Incorporated and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated as underwriters in connection with an SEC-registered offering of US$1,000,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the Republic of Peru’s 5.625% US Dollar-Denominated Global Bonds due 2050. Shearman & Sterling also represented Morgan & Stanley Co. Incorporated as Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Scotiabank Peru as initial purchasers in a Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of Global Depositary Notes (“GDNs”) representing S. /4,196,250,000 aggregate principal amount of the Republic of Peru’s 7.84% Nuevo Sol-Denominated Bonos Soberanos due 2020. The net proceeds from the offerings are being used for partial prepayment of external indebtedness, reimbursement of expenses to the treasury and prefinancing a portion of the general financing requirements for the year 2011.

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DLA Piper announced that it is representing Hypercom Corporation in its stock-for-stock with VeriFone Systems, Inc. The deal is valued at approximately $485 million. Verifone and Hypercom are leading global companies in electronic payment solutions, and the merger will combine Hypercom’s strong European presence with Verifone’s strong US and Asian presence.

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Shearman & Sterling successfully represented its client, a European shipyard company, in an ICC Pre-arbitral Referee procedure in which a North-African State entity had requested interim measures. The applicant sought the appointment of a technical expert on the ground that this was necessary to preserve or establish evidence. The underlying dispute arose out of a contract for the construction of a ferry. In parallel with this procedure, the applicant filed a request for arbitration with the ICC.

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