The Firm represented Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, Credit Suisse, RBC Capital Markets, CIBC, HSBC and Morgan Stanley as initial purchasers in connection with a 144A/Regulation S offering by MEG Energy Corp. (“MEG”) of $880 million of 6.375% Senior Notes due 2023. MEG intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes.

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On July 10, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York granted interim approval of an $802 million debtor in possession financing facility for Patriot Coal Corporation and 98 of its subsidiaries, which filed for bankruptcy protection on July 9. The Debtors are a leading producer and marketer of coal in the United States, with operations and coal reserves in the Appalachia and Illinois Basic coal regions.

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Shearman & Sterling represented Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., Barclays Bank Plc, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners in connection with a $14.5 billion aggregate financing, including a $5 billion five-year revolving credit facility for Abbot Laboratories, a $2 billion five-year revolving credit facility for Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie Inc. and a $7.5 billion 364-day bridge guaranteed financing for AbbVie Inc. These financing transactions will be used, in part, in connection with transactions related to the spin-off of the research-based pharmaceuticals business of Abbott Laboratories.

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Shearman & Sterling represented Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as joint bookrunners in connection with Banco Davivienda S.A.’s offering of US$500 million Subordinated Notes due 2022. Banco Davivienda S.A. is one of the largest financial institutions in Colombia and is a leading, integrated full service bank with the strongest consumer banking franchise in Colombia. This was Banco Davivienda’s first international offering.

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Pearson plc, the world’s leading learning company, today announced the acquisition of Author Solutions, Inc. (ASI), a premier provider of self-publishing services.

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On July 17, it was announced that Winnipeg, Canada-based Arctic Glacier Inc. received approval for its $435 million purchase by Miami, Florida-based private equity firm HIG Capital LLC. On February 21, Arctic Glacier had initiated proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in the Court of Queen’s Bench, Manitoba, with U.S. affiliates of the packaged-ice producer filing for chapter 15 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court the following day. Willkie represents Alvarez & Marsal, the court-appointed Monitor in the Canadian CCAA proceedings and the foreign representative in the chapter 15 cases.

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Chadbourne & Parke LLP represented Scotiabank & Trust (Cayman) Ltd., The Bank of Tokio-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., DNB Bank ASA, Agencia en Chile, and The Bank of Nova Scotia as lenders in connection with the grant of a US$180 million revolving credit facility to Transelec — a Chilean electricity transmission company.

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Stephen Culhane has joined Kaye Scholer’s Corporate Department as a Partner in its Fund Formation practice. He has almost 20 years experience advising sponsors of private equity, real estate, special situation and distressed investment funds, hedge funds and funds of funds with the structuring, formation and operation of such fund products. Over the course of his career, he has advised clients with respect to the formation of countless funds organized to invest in private equity, real estate and diverse trading strategies, including the largest private equity fund formed to date to invest in the People’s Republic of China. In addition to his fund formation experience, Culhane has extensive experience representing institutional investors in private funds as well as buyers and sellers of secondary interests in private equity portfolios.

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Shearman & Sterling represented Citigroup Global Markets Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated as lead arrangers and bookrunners in connection with a $1 billion 364-day credit facility for Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.

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Davis Polk advised NBCUniversal Media, LLC in connection with its acquisition of the 50% share of the MSNBC Digital Network joint venture that it did not previously own from Microsoft Corporation.

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