On November 15, 2012, Heineken N.V. closed its S$5.6 billion ($4.6 billion) takeover bid for Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd. (APBL), acquiring an additional 40-percent stake in the joint venture from its partner Fraser & Neave Ltd, a Singapore-based conglomerate. Duane Morris & Selvam, a joint law venture with U.S.-based international law firm Duane Morris LLP, acted for Heineken in the complex and widely followed transaction, which consolidates a controlling interest in APBL for the Amsterdam-based brewer of approximately 95 percent. The transaction marks one of the largest of its kind in Singapore this year.

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Leading international law firm Clifford Chance is advising The Carlyle Group on its strategic minority investment in Export Trading Group (ETG). This is the first investment made by Carlyle’s Sub-Saharan Africa Fund. Other investors in the $210million financing include Standard Chartered’s Africa Private Equity division and Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund. ETG is an African agricultural commodities supply chain manager and the deal is the first investment by Carlyle’s Sub-Saharan Africa Fund.

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Stamford Law are lead legal advisors to Fraser & Neave, Limited (F&N) as the takeover saga continues in the largest-ever M&A deal in Southeast Asia, with an OUE-led consortium launching a US$10.7 billion (S$13.1 billion) bid for F&N on 15 November 2012. The consortium led by Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd (OUE) is offering S$9.08 per share for F&N, trumping the earlier TCC Assets offer of S$8.88 a share. TCC Assets is a special purpose vehicle owned by Thai billionaire, Mr. Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi and his wife. To add to the continuing drama, Japan’s Kirin Holdings – which holds an approximate 14.8% stake in F&N – have thrown their support for the OUE offer subject to certain conditions. If the OUE offer triumphs, this will lay the foundation for the F&N conglomerate to be broken up, with Kirin indicating that they will offer to buy F&N’s food and beverage business for S$2.7 billion, and the remainder of F&N’s businesses being retained by OUE, including the property business.

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O’Melveny & Myers LLP has represented UBS AG and CLSA as placement agents in connection with the block trade share sale by BSL Investment Inc. of 3.4 billion shares of PT Pakuwon Jati Tbk. at a price of IDR240 per share. The gross proceeds received by BSL Investment as selling shareholder totaled approximately IDR816,000,000,000 (US$85 million). The transaction was structured as a placement under Regulation S and Rule 144A under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

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Duane Morris & Selvam LLP is pleased to announce that Jamie Benson and James Wong have joined its Singaporeoffice. The addition of Benson, a Director, and Wong, a Special Counsel, grow the capacity of the corporate practice in Singapore. Benson joins from Dorsey & Whitney (Europe) LLP in London. Wong joins from Crescent Advisors in Singapore.

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Stamford Law is advising Mainboard-listed Kian Ann Engineering Ltd. in its S$200 million privatisation by way of a scheme of arrangement, pursuant to a cash offer by Invicta Asian Holdings Pte. Ltd., an indirect subsidiary of Invicta Holdings Limited, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

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The global law firm Jones Day has announced that Matthew Skinner and Darren Murphy have joined the Firm’s Singapore Office as partners in the Global Disputes and Energypractices, respectively.

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Mr. Gerald Yee joined as a Partner of Colin Ng & Partners LLP (CNP) on 1 October 2012, to develop the shipping practice of the firm. His practice comprises both contentious and non-contentious admiralty and shipping work.

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The international law firm Clifford Chance has advised ABN AMRO on its heavily oversubscribed SGD$1 billion (approximately EUR635 million) tier-2 issuance at 4.70% due in 2022 notes in the Singapore dollar bond market. The deal received a local record of SGD$17 billion (approximately EUR10 billion) from 170 accounts, biggest for a European lender. The deal is the first SGD Tier 2 transaction from a European bank in over a decade and the first SGD Tier 2 from a non-Asian focused bank.

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The Singapore office of Watson, Farley & Williams LLP (WFW) is pleased to announce that it has advised Noah Shipping Solutions Pte. Ltd. (NSS) on the sale of its two Singapore flagged bulk carrier vessels m.v. “Selaras” and m.v. “Serasih 2” to subsidiaries of Singapore company KS Maritime Pte. Ltd.

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