Allen & Gledhill has advised Astrea IV on the issue of S$242 million (US$177m) Class A-1 secured fixed rate bonds due 2028, US$210 million Class A-2 secured fixed rate bonds due 2028, and US$110 million Class B secured fixed rate bonds due 2028. The bonds are the first retail bonds in Singapore backed by cash flows from private equity funds. This is the first transaction in Singapore to make private equity accessible to retail investors through a private equity bond structure. Partners Yeo Wico, Jeanne Ong, Andrew Chan, Danny Tan, Ng Wuay Teck and Lim Pek Bur led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Allen & Gledhill has also advised Housing and Development Board on the issue of S$1.2 billion (US$877.2m) fixed rate notes, with S$500 million (US$365.5m) due 2030 and S$700 million (US$511.7m) due 2023, under its S$32 billion (US$23.4b) multicurrency medium term note programme. Partners Margaret Chin and Sunit Chhabra led the firm’s team in the transaction.
AZB & Partners has advised Epiq Capital B on its more than US$5 million acquisition of a minority interest in the equity share capital of Lenskart Solutions from existing shareholder IDG Ventures India I. Partner Srinath Dasari led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on June 28, 2018.
AZB & Partners has also advised The Walt Disney Company on its acquisition of 21CF for approximately US$71.3 billion in stock and cash. Walt Disney will also acquire 21CF’s interest in Sky. Partner Samir Gandhi led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on August 10, 2018.
Colin Ng & Partners has advised Synagie on its IPO in Singapore. The IPO of 43 million invitation shares in Synagie’s capital, at S$0.27 (US$0.197) per share, raised approximately S$11.6 million (US$8.5m) in gross proceeds and S$9.8 million (US$7.2m) in net proceeds. The amount raised will be used for business expansion, including penetrating new geographical locations, investments in information technology capabilities, M&As and working capital. Synagie is Southeast Asia’s leading e-commerce enabler in the ‘body, beauty and baby’ sector, and one of the region’s fastest-growing e-commerce start-up. It is also the fastest-growing e-commerce start-up in Singapore. Partners Tan Min-Li and Stephen Soh led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has advised SPI Cinemas, the largest cinema exhibitor in South India, and its promoters Kiran Reddy (thru SS Theatres) and SV Swaroop Reddy on the acquisition of SPI by PVR. The transaction involves the approximately Rs6.3 billion (US$90.2m) sale by the promoters of 71.69 percent of their shareholding in SPI to PVR, and the merger of SPI into PVR. Pursuant to the merger, SS Theatres will be issued approximately 3.3 percent of PVR’s equity share capital. The deal was signed on August 12, 2018, and the closing of the transfer of shares took place on August 17, 2018. The merger of SPI into PVR is expected to take place within nine to 12 months after the signing. Mumbai partners L Viswanathan, Vandana Sekhri and Ruchira Shroff led the firm’s team in the transaction. PVR was represented by Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, led by partner Akila Agarwal.
J Sagar Associates has represented ANI Technologies before the Delhi High Court on securing an order for the removal of confidential information and disparaging comments hosted on Hush, a web-based platform which allows employees of an organisation to anonymously post comments, gossip and rumour about their colleagues, bosses, co- workers and culture of the organisation. The court also directed ‘Hush’ to disclose the names of the persons posting the aforesaid comments to the court in sealed cover. Partner Dheeraj Nair led the firm’s team, which represented the client.
J Sagar Associates has also acted for Clix Capital on its maiden issuance of unlisted, rated, unsecured, non-convertible debentures, post the acquisition of Clix Capital (the erstwhile GE Money Financial Services) by Pramod Bhasin, Anil Chawla and AION Capital Partners. The debentures have been issued in two series, aggregating to Rs5 billion (US$71.6m), to Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund, on a private placement basis. The proceeds of the issuance were utilised by Clix Capital for general corporate purposes and on-lending. Joint managing partner Dina Wadia and partner Anjana Potti led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Khaitan & Co has advised the book-running lead managers on the IPO of approximately 25.5milllion equity shares of HDFC Asset Management, through an offer for sale of approximately 8.6 million equity shares by Housing Development Finance and approximately 16.9 million equity shares by Standard Life Investments. HDFC Asset Management acts exclusively as the investment manager to HDFC Mutual Fund. It is the largest asset management company in India, in terms of equity-oriented assets under management since the last quarter of Fiscal Year 2011. Partners Abhimanyu Bhattacharya and Aditya Cheriyan led the firm’s team in the transaction. AZB & Partners, led by partners Varoon Chandra, Rushabh Maniar, Ami Parikh and Lionel D’Almeida, acted as Indian law counsel to HDFC Asset Management.
Khaitan & Co has also advised Hindustan Unilever on the acquisition of the ice cream and frozen desserts business of Karnataka-based Vijaykant Dairy and Food Products, consisting of its flagship brand ‘Adityaa Milk’ and front-end distribution network. Hindustan Unilever is one of the India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods company. Unilever is the leading ice creams and frozen desserts company in the world. In India, Hindustan Unilever markets ice creams and frozen desserts under the Kwality Wall’s and Magnum brands. Partner Nikhilesh Panchal led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) has acted as Cayman Islands counsel to Pinduoduo on its offering and listing of 85.6 million ADSs on Nasdaq. Pinduoduo is an innovative and fast growing “new e-commerce” platform that provides buyers with value-for-money merchandise, and fun and interactive shopping experiences. Pinduoduo raised approximately US$1.6 billion. Partner Richard Spooner led the firm’s teram in the transaction, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and King & Wood Mallesons acted as US and China counsel, respectively. Kirkland & Ellis International and Jingtian & Gongcheng acted as US and China counsel, respectively, to Credit Suisse Securities (USA), Goldman Sachs (Asia), China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities and China Renaissance Securities (Hong Kong), as the representatives of the underwriters.
Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) has also acted as Cayman Islands counsel to Hope Education Group on its global offering and listing of approximately 1.67 billion shares, which raised approximately HK$3.2 billion (US$407.7m) in Hong Kong. Hope Education is the second largest private higher education group in China, in terms of number of students. Partner Derrick Kan led the firm’s team in the transaction, while Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as Hong Kong and US counsel and Tian Yuan Law Firm acted as China counsel. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Affiliates acted as Hong Kong and US counsel, while Jingtian & Gongcheng acted as China counsel to Citigroup Global Markets Asia and China Merchants Securities (HK), as the joint sponsors.
Shook Lin & Bok has acted for CapitaLand Retail China Trust Management, as manager of CapitaLand Retail China Trust (CRCT), and HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore), as trustee of CRCT, on the issuance of S$130 million (US$95m) 3.25 percent Series 001 notes due 2022, under the issuer’s S$1 billion (US$731.3m) multicurrency debt issuance programme. Partners Marilyn See and Lian Shueh Min led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Simpson Thacher has acted as sole international counsel to Credit Suisse, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, JP Morgan Securities, Merrill Lynch International, Mizuho Securities Asia, Shinhan Asia and Shinhan Investment, as the dealers on the establishment of the US$5 billion global medium term note program of Shinhan Financial Group, and as the joint lead managers on the offering of US$500 million 5.875 percent Tier I subordinated notes by Shinhan Financial Group under its global medium term note program. Hong Kong partner Jin Hyuk Park led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Wong & Partners, a member firm of Baker McKenzie International, has advised CP Asia Holding on the M$113 million (US$27.5m) sale of its 27.77 percent stake in Frontken to Dazzle Clean, an entity which is indirectly-owned by Singapore-based private equity firm Dymon Asia and Frontken chairman Ng Wai Pin. Malaysia-listed Frontken is an established and leading service provider of surface engineering in the Asia Pacific region. Partner Munir Abdul Aziz led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on August 3, 2018.