On June 11, 2014, BioFuel Energy Corp. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with certain affiliates of Greenlight Capital, Inc. and James R. Brickman, pursuant to which BioFuel Energy will acquire the equity interests of JBGL Builder Finance LLC and certain subsidiaries of JBGL Capital, LP from Greenlight and Brickman. Cravath represented BioFuel Energy in connection with this transaction, which is subject to certain conditions and is expected to close in October 2014. JBGL is a series of real estate entities involved in the purchase and development of land for residential purposes, construction lending and home building operations. JBGL is currently owned and controlled by Greenlight and Brickman.

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Cravath represented the underwriters, led by J.P. Morgan Securities, Goldman, Sachs & Co., BofA Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, in connection with the US$552 million registered common stock offering of CoStar Group, Inc., a leading provider of information and analytic services to the commercial real estate industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. The shares were listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. The transaction closed on June 11, 2014.

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DLA Piper represented Measurement Specialties, Inc., a global designer and manufacturer of sensors and sensor-based systems, in its agreement to purchase Wema System AS , a leader in the development, manufacture and supply of fuel and AdBlue/DEF level and quality sensors for on-road and off-road commercial vehicles, for approximately US$114.5 million. The acquisition closed on May 30, 2014.
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Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, today announced that it has represented B/E Aerospace Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of aircraft cabin interior products and of logistical services of aerospace fasteners and consumables, in its $145 million acquisition of Vision Oil Tools LLC, a leading oilfield services provider.
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Shearman & Sterling represented Ardagh Finance Holdings S.A., an indirect parent company of Ardagh Packaging Holdings Limited (“Ardagh Packaging Holdings”), in its offering of $710 million 8.625% Senior PIK Notes due 2019 and €250 million 8.375% Senior PIK Notes due 2019. The net proceeds from the issuance will be used to fund the redemption of the existing PIK notes due 2018 issued by ARD Finance S.A. and to finance a return of capital to shareholders. The offering, which was conducted pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S under the US Securities Act, closed on June 12, 2014.

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Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. is pleased to announce that The Goldman Sachs Group and Bain Capital Partners have agreed to pay a total $121 million in settlement of the firm’s class of plaintiffs clients in Dahl v. Bain Capital Partners. Bain has agreed to a settlement for $54 million, and Goldman Sachs agreed to a $67 million settlement, as two of seven defendants in that case. Plaintiffs are former shareholders of certain public companies who sold their shares to the Defendant private equity firms in large leveraged buyouts (“LBOs”) announced between 2003 and 2007.

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Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, represented Santander, Credit Suisse, BBVA, BTG Pactual, Evercore, Goldman, Sachs & Co., HSBC and UBS Investment Bank as initial purchasers in connection with Fibra Uno’s US$2.5 billion follow-on equity offering, the largest equity offering ever in the real estate sector in Latin America.  Fibra Uno’s follow-on offering is also the third largest equity offering ever in Mexico, following only Santander’s US$4.1 billion IPO in 2012 and Telemex’s US$2.8 billion IPO in 2000.  This oversubscribed offering marks the fourth equity offering by Fibra Uno, which has now issued approximately US$5.5 billion in equity since its IPO in 2011.  The issued stock was offered publicly in Mexico on the Mexican Stock Exchange and internationally pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S.  
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Perkins Coie represented client Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: BEE), a real estate investment trust (REIT) which owns and provides value enhancing asset management of high-end hotels and resorts in the United States and Europe, in its purchase of the remaining 63.6 percent ownership interest in the Hotel del Coronado from The Blackstone Group, L.P., one of the world’s leading investment and advisory firms, for $210 million in cash. With the completion of the acquisition, Strategic Hotels & Resorts will have 100 percent ownership of the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, California.
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Global law firm Proskauer represented American Realty Capital Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARCP) in its agreement to sell its multi-tenant shopping center portfolio for $1.975 billion in cash to a joint venture between affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII and DDR Corporation. The portfolio consists of 76 shopping centers, totaling 16.4 million square feet, in prime cities including Los Angeles, Houston, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington D.C. and Phoenix. The transaction is expected to close by late third quarter 2014, subject to customary closing conditions.

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Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. is pleased to announce that The Goldman Sachs Group and Bain Capital Partners have agreed to pay a total $121 million in settlement of the firm’s class of plaintiffs clients in Dahl v. Bain Capital Partners. Bain has agreed to a settlement for $54 million, and Goldman Sachs agreed to a $67 million settlement, as two of seven defendants in that case. Plaintiffs are former shareholders of certain public companies who sold their shares to the Defendant private equity firms in large leveraged buyouts (“LBOs”) announced between 2003 and 2007.

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