Paul, Weiss represented Guggenheim Securities as initial purchaser in connection with Dunkin’ Brands, Inc.’s $2.6 billion whole business securitization of its Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins restaurant chains, which closed January 26. DB Master Finance LLC issued securitization notes, rated BBB by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services, which, among other things, enabled the company to refinance its existing debt. More >>
Tags: New York
Morgan Lewis Advises CRH plc on €6.5bn Asset Acquisition from Lafarge and Holcim
Global law firm, Morgan Lewis is advising the international building materials group CRH plc (“CRH”) on the global merger control and antitrust issues of its recently announced binding commitment to acquire certain assets from Lafarge S.A. (“Lafarge”) and Holcim Ltd (“Holcim”) for an enterprise value of €6.5bn. The acquisition takes place in the context of the planned merger of Holcim and Lafarge and completion is expected for mid-2015. More >>
Tags: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP | London
Herbert Smith Freehills advises on US$7 billion first oil and gas project in Ghana
Herbert Smith Freehills is advising Vitol, a leading energy and commodities company with a turnover of US$307 billion, on its US$7 billion oil and gas project in Ghana with ENI. The development of the pure gas fields contained in the project has been described by the World Bank as a ‘top priority’ for Ghana, as it will underpin the growth of a domestic thermal power sector and accelerate Ghana’s industrial development. More >>
Tags: Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
Gordon & Rees Continues National Expansion With Birmingham Office
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP has opened a Birmingham, Ala. office, its 33rd U.S. location since the firm was founded 40 years ago. The Birmingham office strengthens the firm’s presence in the Southeastern United States, following Gordon & Rees’s expansion into Atlanta, Miami, Tampa, Charleston, and Raleigh. Gordon & Rees’s Birmingham office serves clients in commercial litigation, toxic and mass tort, transportation and trucking, premises, employment, and other legal sectors. More >>
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DOJ Prosecutor Ryan Rohlfsen Joins Ropes & Gray as a Partner in Chicago
Ropes & Gray LLP announced today that Ryan Rohlfsen, senior trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Fraud Section, has joined its government enforcement practice in Chicago as a partner. More >>
Tags: Ropes & Gray LLP | Chicago
Simpson Thacher Represents Office Depot in Staples Aquisition
Simpson Thacher is representing Office Depot, Inc. (NASDAQ: ODP) in connection with its proposed sale to Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) in a cash-and-stock transaction currently valued at an equity value of $6.3 billion. Under the terms of the transaction, Office Depot shareholders will receive, for each Office Depot share, $7.25 in cash and 0.2188 of a share in Staples’ stock, representing $11 per share and a premium of 44% to Office Depot’s stock price based on Staples’ closing share price on February 2, 2015, the last trading day prior to the initial media speculation around a possible transaction. The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of calendar year 2015, is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. More >>
Tags: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP | New YorkStaples, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Office Depot, Inc.
Staples, Inc. and Office Depot, Inc. announced today that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Staples will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Office Depot.
Under the terms of the agreement, Office Depot shareholders will receive, for each Office Depot share, $7.25 in cash and 0.2188 of a share in Staples stock at closing. Based on Staples closing share price on February 2, 2015, the last trading day prior to initial media speculation around a possible transaction, the transaction values Office Depot at $11.00 per share. This represents a premium of 44 percent over the closing price of Office Depot shares as of February 2, 2015, and a premium of 65 percent over the 90-day average closing price of Office Depot shares as of February 2, 2015. The transaction values Office Depot at an equity value of $6.3 billion. More >>
Tags: BostonMorgan Lewis Advises FMC Corporation in $1.64 Billion Alkali Division Sale to Tronox Ltd.
Morgan Lewis advised leading diversified chemicals manufacturer FMC Corporation in the $1.64 billion sale of its alkali chemicals division to Tronox Ltd. FMC’s alkali chemicals division is the largest global producer of natural soda ash and related products, which are used in glass manufacturing, water treatment, pulp and paper, textiles, food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. More >>
Tags: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP | Philadelphia
Executive compensation attorney Benjamin D. Panter joins the Chicago office of McDonald Hopkins
Benjamin D. Panter, formerly a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, has been elected as a Member at McDonald Hopkins LLC, a business advisory and advocacy law firm with an 85-year history and a growing presence in Chicago.
Based in McDonald Hopkins’ Chicago office, Panter joins the firm’s national Executive Compensation and Governance Practice, which advises public and private companies, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and executives across a range of industries. More >>
Tags: McDonald Hopkins | Chicago
Jackson Lewis Adds Employment Litigation Team in New Jersey
Jackson Lewis P.C., one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing workplace law firms, is pleased to announce it has bolstered its New Jersey roster with the addition of a labor and employment team from Giordano Halleran & Ciesla. Joseph C. DeBlasio, formerly co-chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Area, joins Jackson Lewis as Shareholder. He is joined by Shareholder Kelly D. Gunther and Associates Ryan S. Carlson, Sabrina Kania and Saranne E. Weimer. The team will be resident in the firm’s Morristown, NJ office prior to opening the firm’s Red Bank, NJ office in Spring 2015. More >>
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