Davis Polk is advising Bank of America, N.A., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Credit Suisse AG and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC as lead arrangers of a £3.6 billion unsecured, investment-grade bridge facility to PPL Capital Funding, Inc. and PPL WEM Holdings plc, wholly owned subsidiaries of PPL Corporation, in connection with its acquisition of all of the equity interests of Central Networks Limited and Central Networks East plc, wholly owned subsidiaries of E.ON UK plc. These utilities serve about 5 million customers in the United Kingdom. 

Baker & McKenzie – CIS, Limited announced that it advised Brown-Forman Corporation on a complex project for the distribution of Brown-Forman’s portfolio of beverage brands in the Russian market through Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company Eurasia.

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, a leading global law firm, announced today that the firm is representing leading ambulance and private fire protection services company Rural/Metro Corporation on its acquisition by global private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

Walter Investment Management Corp. announced  that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase GTCS Holdings LLC (“Green Tree”) in a transaction valued at $1.065 billion.  Walter Investment will issue approximately 1.8 million shares of common stock to the seller, assume approximately $20 million of existing Green Tree debt, and issue $765 million of new debt which has been fully committed to by Credit Suisse and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc and which, together with cash, will be used to acquire the equity of Green Tree, repay existing Green Tree indebtedness and pay fees and expenses of the transaction.  Green Tree, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a leading independent, fee-based business services company which provides high-touch, third-party servicing of credit-sensitive consumer loans.

Simpson Thacher is representing Apax Partners in connection with its announced $763 million (C$745 million) acquisition of Trader Corporation from Yellow Media Inc.  Trader Corporation’s businesses include AutoTrader.ca, Canada’s leading online automotive classified marketplace, as well as numerous auto-related print publications. Trader Corporation also holds an approximately 30% interest in Dealer Dot Com, Inc., the leading digital auto dealer marketing service provider in the United States and Canada.  The Firm is also representing Apax on the related financing.

Davis Polk advised Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. in connection with its acquisition of the 775-room New York Helmsley Hotel from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust and Harley of New York Associates for a purchase price of $313.5 million. The New York Helmsley Hotel will undergo significant property improvements, including complete guestroom and guest bath renovations, as well as upgrades to the meeting space. The Westin brand will be added to the hotel upon completion of the improvements, which is projected to be early to mid-2012.

Simmons & Simmons has advised BlueCrest on the acquisition by its partners of Man Group’s 25.5% stake in the BlueCrest group for a total consideration of $633 million.  In addition, Simmons & Simmons advised on the simultaneous acquisition of retired co-founder Bill Reeves’ remaining interests in the BlueCrest group.

CMS has advised Advent International, the global private equity firm and a longstanding Key Account of CMS, across seven countries on the agreement to acquire Provimi Pet Food (PPF), the third largest producer of private label wet and dry pet food in Europe, from the Provimi Group for an enterprise value of €188 million. The transaction is expected to complete following European Union merger clearance as well as the completion of certain other works council processes.

Leading global law firm Mayer Brown advised Elara Capital Plc as sole lead manager and bookrunner in relation to the listing by Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company (HAGL), one of the largest private companies in Vietnam, on the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange- the first overseas listing for a Vietnamese company.

Willkie client Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and consumer products giant The Procter & Gamble Company announced a joint venture to combine their over-the-counter consumer health care businesses in all markets outside of North America. This new business model combines Teva’s broad geographic reach, its experience in R&D, regulatory and manufacturing and its extensive portfolio of products with P&G’s strong brand-building, consumer-led innovation and go-to-market capabilities. The markets included in the joint venture generated 2010 sales of more than $1 billion. The joint venture will seek opportunities to develop prescription-to-OTC switches, which will be marketed worldwide, including in North America. Teva will also be responsible for global manufacturing, supplying both the joint venture and P&G’s existing North American business.