Allen & Gledhill has advised Grab Holdings on its acquisition of the Southeast Asian operations and assets of Uber Technologies for a 27.5 percent stake in Grab. Grab will absorb Uber’s ride-sharing and food delivery business in the region into Grab’s existing multi-modal transportation and fintech platform. Partners Christian Chin, Daren Shiau, Elsa Chen, Yeo Boon Kiat, Alexander Yap, Oh Hsiu-Hau (Myanmar) and Chen Lee Won, Jack Yow and Raymond Yong from Rahmat Lim & Partners in Malaysia led the transaction.
Ashurst has acted as Hong Kong counsel to CHMT Peaceful Development Asia Property on the US$4.1 billion bond issuance to finance the acquisition of Hong Kong skyscraper The Centre. The consortium acquired The Centre from Li Ka-shing’s CK Asset Holdings at a record price of HK$40.2 billion (US$5b) in November 2017. It is the world’s most expensive real estate transaction for a single building to date. The issuing company was owned by a consortium made up of Hong Kong’s most influential families. Other investors in the consortium include Koon Wing Motors founder Ma Ah Mok, ACME Group chairman David Chan Ping-chi, Wing Li Group founder and chairman Lo Man-Tuen and Asia Property Agency founder Raymond Tsoi Chi-chung. The bonds were raised in two tranches, with the senior tranche valued at US$3.3 billion led by Morgan Stanley, and the junior tranche valued at US$811.5 million led by Hammer Capital. The anchor investors included GIC for the senior tranche and PAG Capital for the junior tranche. Finance partners Jini Lee and Daniel Lau, supported by partner Christopher Whiteley, led the transaction.
AZB & Partners has advised Schneider Electric Industries and Temasek Holdings on the acquisition by Schneider Electric India of the electrical and automation business of Larsen and Toubro (L&T), and the acquisition by Schneider JV Holdings of the entire shareholding of the offshore subsidiaries relating to L&T’s electrical and automation business from L&T International FZE, a subsidiary of L&T. Partners Ashwath Rau and Dhruv Singhal led the transaction, which was valued at Rs140 billion (US$2b) and was signed on May 1, 2018.
AZB & Partners has also advised Schneider Electric Industries and Schneider Electric India on the acquisition by Schneider Electric Industries and Macritchie Investments (Temasek) of 65 percent and 35 percent shares, respectively, in Schneider Electric India. The acquisition price for Schneider Electric Industries and Temasek was Rs34.3 billion (US$510m) and Rs50.8 billion (US$755.7m), respectively, for a total acquisition price of Rs85 billion (US$1.26b). Partners Ashwath Rau and Dhruv Singhal also led the transaction, which was signed also on May 1, 2018.
Clifford Chance has advised Ping An Healthcare and Technology (Ping An Good Doctor) on its US$1.12 billion IPO in Hong Kong. The IPO received an oversubscription of 654 times in the retail tranche, and a list of reputable cornerstone investors with an over-subscribed international placing tranche. The firm also advised Ping An Good Doctor in SoftBank Vision Fund’s US$400 million pre-IPO investment. The company operates China’s largest internet healthcare platform delivering medical and wellness services, such as online family doctors and health mall services. Its nationwide network of healthcare service providers covers 3,100 hospitals, 1,100 health check-up centres, 500 dental clinics and 7,500 pharmacy outlets. Partners Amy Lo, Tim Wang and Fang Liu, led the transaction, while partners Amy Lo and Frank Yuen led the pre-IPO investment. Haiwen & Partners advised the company on PRC law. The underwriters were advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell as to Hong Kong and US law and Grandall Law Firm on PRC law. DLA Piper advised Ping An on Hong Kong law.
J Sagar Associates has advised B Capital,a fund floated by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, on its Series B investment in Smartpaddle Technology (Bizongo). The investment is a part of the larger Series B round of approximately US$20 million funding, involving investment by International Finance Corporation, IDG and Accel. Bizongo previously raised approximately US$3 million in a Series A round of funding by Accel and IDG in November 2016 and seed funding from Accel in October 2015. Bizongo operates a B2B marketplace for providing packaging solutions to medium and large businesses, and engages in wholesale trading of packaging products. Partner Manvinder Singh led the transaction. Bizongo was advised by LexStart Partners, while IFC was advised by Trilegal.
Khaitan & Co has acted as sole domestic counsel on Indian law to Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services on the update of the Rs50 billion (US$744m) multi-currency medium term note programme established in 2016. The bonds, which will be issued pursuant to the RBI approval under the updated MTN programme, are proposed to be listed in Singapore. Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services is one of India’s leading rural NBFC, and is among the top tractor financer in India offering a wide range of financial products to address varied customer requirements. Partner Manisha Shroff led the transaction.
Khaitan & Co has also advised the promoters and shareholders of Creative Polypack, Vibgyor Printing and Packaging and Aparna Paper Processing Industry on their sale of the majority stake in the companies to GPC Holdings (Constantia Flexibles Group, an Austrian company which is the third largest flexible packaging manufacturer in the world). Creative Polypack is India’s leading flexible packaging company, with eight state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in strategically planned locations across the country and production capacity over 30,000 mt per annum. Since its inception in 1986 at Kolkata, Creative Polypack has been catering to evolving flexible packaging needs of FMCG companies, both in India and overseas. Partner Arindam Sarkar, assisted by associate partner Gaurav Dasgupta, led the transaction.
Mayer Brown has advised Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan and Standard Chartered Bank as the joint lead managers and book-runners on the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka’s offering of new senior unsecured fixed rate notes, comprising of US$1.25 billion 5.75 percent notes due 2023 and US$1.25 billion 6.75 percent notes due 2028. This was Sri Lanka’s largest offshore bond offering to date, and marks Sri Lanka’s twelfth US dollar benchmark offering in the international bond markets since 2007. The offering saw strong interest from a wide range of high quality international investors, with the final order book many times oversubscribed. Hong Kong corporate and securities partner Thomas Kollar, supported by partners Jason Elder (Hong Kong), Jared Goldberger (New York) and James Taylor (London), led the transaction.
Rajah & Tann Singapore has acted for Singapore-listed pan-Asian industrial agri-food company Japfa on its approximately US$263.1 million acquisition of the remaining shareholding interest in Austasia Investment Holdings and AIH2 from Black River Funds, managed by Proterra Investment Partners. The acquisition was completed on April 30, 2018, and the consideration satisfied in full with a cash payment of US$223 million and the balance satisfied by the issue of 90 million new shares in the capital of Japfa. Austasia Investment Holdings and AIH2 are principal subsidiaries of Japfa, holding the group’s dairy business comprising dairy farms in China and Indonesia, as well as the group’s “greenfields” milk downstream business. Partners Evelyn Wee, Favian Tan and Hoon Chi Tern led the transaction.
Rajah & Tann Singapore has also acted for Hind Lifestyle Services on the sale of the entire issued and paid-up share capital in Naumi Services, the owner of Naumi Liora Hotel, which sits across ten adjoining freehold conservation shophouses along Keong Saik Road. The transaction also involved a leaseback arrangement, under which the Hind Group will continue to operate the hotel using another entity. Partners Norman Ho and Terence Quek led the transaction, which was valued at S$76.5 million (US$57m).
Shook Lin & Bok has acted as Singapore counsel for HKE Holdings, a Singapore-based contractor specialising in the medical and healthcare sectors with expertise in performing radiation shielding works, on its IPO in Hong Kong, which raised HK$100 million (US$12.7m). Partners Wong Gang and Johnny Lim led the transaction.