Allen & Gledhill has acted as transaction counsel to DBS Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Singapore Branch on the US$250 million revolving loan facility to Olam Treasury. DBS Bank also acted as the agent for the transaction. Partner Mark Hudspeth led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Allen & Gledhill has also acted as transaction counsel to venture capital firm Wavemaker Pacific 4, which led a Series A round investment in Lemonaide, a digital aggregator company based in Southeast Asia providing software solutions for the pre-owned car market. Partner Nicholas Soh led the firm’s team in the transaction.
AZB & Partners is advising Cellcure Cancer Centre and Dr Ashish Joshi, Dr Kshitij Joshi, Dr Preetam Kalaskar, Dr Vashista Maniar and Dr Chandrashekhar Pethe on the Rs749 million (US$9m) acquisition of equity stake by Tata Capital Healthcare Fund II in Mumbai Oncocare Centre, a unit of Cellcure Cancer Centre. Tata Capital Healthcare Fund II is registered under the SEBI (Alternate Investment Funds) Regulations 2012 as a Category II Alternate Investment Fund, acting through its trustee, Tata Trustee, represented by Tata Capital, the investment manager. Partners Anand Shah and Shriram Shah are leading the firm’s team in the transaction, which was signed on January 12, 2023 and is yet to be completed.
AZB & Partners has also advised Alpine Investors, via its affiliate Helium Acquirer Corporation, on its acquisition of Medusind Holdings and its group companies, including its Indian subsidiary, Medusind Solutions India. Partners Ashwath Rau, John Adwet Raghav and Shivanand Nayak led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was valued at more than US$10 million and was completed on January 5, 2023.
Baker McKenzie has represented Cambium Grove Capital (CGC), an Asia-based asset management platform that invests in real estate, alternative credit, private equity and special situation opportunities, on the structuring, formation and successful closing of an investment vehicle relating to the acquisition of a portfolio of hotels in Japan. The transaction exemplifies CGC’s Japan value-add real estate investment strategy. Hong Kong private capital specialist Edwin Wong led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Baker McKenzie has also advised Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) on successfully securing a US$750 million (with green shoe option) syndicated loan with eight international and multinational banks, acting as mandated lead arrangers and book-runners, to support the company’s green projects and programs implementation. The mandated lead arrangers and book-runners of this deal comprise Bank of China, China Construction Bank, CIMB / Bank CIMB Niaga, DBS Bank, Bank Mizuho Indonesia / Mizuho Bank, OCBC / Bank OCBC NISP, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation / Bank BTPN and United Overseas Bank. This transaction, which represents PLN’s first commercial syndicated green loan, follows closely from the US$500 million green financing facility with a guarantee from the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Agency (MIGA), on which the firm also advised. The MIGA-backed financing facility was the first green loan obtained by PLN and by any state-owned enterprise in Indonesia. Partner Indri Pramitaswari (Mita) Guritno and associate partner Agung Wijaya at Indonesian member firm HHP Law Firm, and principal Kah Chin Chu at Singapore member firm Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has advised Andhra Pradesh Urban Infrastructure Asset Management on the financing facility aggregating to Rs20.79 billion (US$254m) availed by Ramayapatnam Port Development Corporation (RPDC) from a consortium of lenders led by State Bank of India. The financing facility is for the construction and development of a greenfield port with total berth capacity of 34 MTPA at Ramayapatnam in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh. Partner Yash Jain led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was signed on September 6, 2022 and is expected to close within this financial year.
IndusLaw has advised PhonePe on its fund raise of US$350 million, at a pre-money valuation of US$12 billion, from leading global growth equity firm General Atlantic. The General Atlantic investment marks the first tranche of an up to US$1 billion total fundraise that PhonePe commenced in January 2023. PhonePe plans to deploy the new funds to make significant investments in infrastructure, including the development of data centers, and help build financial services offerings at scale in the country. The company also plans to invest in new businesses, including insurance, wealth management and lending. The fundraise is expected to support PhonePe, as it seeks to turbo-charge the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India, including UPI lite and Credit on UPI to enable greater financial inclusion for Indians. Partners Saurav Kumar and Rohit Ambast, supported by partner Unnati Agrawal and founding partner Avimukt Dar, led the firm’s team in the transaction. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co represented General Atlantic.
Khaitan & Co has advised Abhinav Arora and other existing shareholders and Synokem Pharmaceuticals on the strategic growth investment by TA Associates in Synokem, a CDMO pharma company which manufactures, exports and sells pharmaceutical products. Partner Bhavik Narsana, supported by partners Nishad Nadkarni, Deepak Kumar and Priya Singh led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was announced on January 18, 2023.
Khaitan & Co has also advised Kedaara Capital Growth Fund III, a fund managed by Kedaara Capital, on its Rs8 billion (US$97.6m) primary investment in Avanse Financial Services. Kedaara is an operationally oriented private equity firm pursuing control and minority investment opportunities in India. It currently advises / manages over US$3.3 billion through investments in market leading businesses across a variety of sectors. With a presence across 50 countries, Avanse is new-age education-focused, technologically advanced NBFC that provides hyper-personalised education financing, as well as financing for the working and growth capital needs, of educational institutes. Partner Niren Patel, supported by partners Ashraya Rao, Moin Ladha, Anshuman Sakle, Siddharth Shah, Divaspati Singh, Kumar Saurabh Singh, Deepak Kumar and Smriti Yadav and executive director Sudhir Bassi, led the firm’s team in the transaction, which was completed on January 19, 2023. AZB & Partners advised Avanse Financial Services and Warburg Pincus, while Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas advised IFC.
Maples has acted as Cayman Islands counsel to WEILONG Delicious Global Holdings on its IPO of approximately 96.4 million shares and the listing in Hong Kong. WEILONG is a leading spicy snack food company in China, most famously known for its “Latiao”, a seasoned flour product inspired by traditional Chinese formulas. The offering, which closed on December 15, 2022, raised approximately HK$1.02 billion (US$130m). Partner Juno Huang led the firm’s team in the transaction, while Clifford Chance advised on Hong Kong and US laws, and Commerce & Finance Law Offices advised on Chinese law. The sponsors Morgan Stanley Asia, China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities and UBS Securities Hong Kong, among others, were advised by Paul Hastings as to Hong Kong and US laws, and by Jingtian & Gongcheng as to Chinese law.
Maples has also acted as Cayman Islands counsel to Huafang Group on its IPO of 46 million ordinary shares and listing in Hong Kong. Huafang is an internet company in China offering video- and audio-based live entertainment and social networking services to its users. The offering, which closed on December 12, 2022, raised approximately HK$128.8 million (US$16.4m). Partner Richard Spooner led the firm’s team in the transaction, while Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised on Hong Kong and US laws, and King & Wood Mallesons advised on Chinese law. The joint sponsors, Haitong International Capital and CCB International Capital, and the underwriters were advised by O’Melveny & Myers as to Hong Kong and US laws, and by Haiwen & Partners as to Chinese law.
Mayer Brown has advised Itochu Corporation on a 15-year Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) sale and purchase agreement with Rio Grande LNG. Under this agreement, Itochu will purchase one million metric tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG on a Henry-Hub linked price from the Rio Grande LNG export project in Brownsville, Texas. The Rio Grande LNG export project will be capable of producing 27 MTPA of LNG at full scale. The project’s promoter, Next Decade, is currently targeting a positive final investment decision on the first three trains of the project during the first quarter of 2023. The project will potentially include a carbon capture and storage system that is designed to reduce at least 90 percent of the CO2 emissions produced at the Rio Grande LNG Terminal. Singapore partner Nick Kouvaritakis, supported by partners Rupert Burrows (Tokyo) and Sean Prior (Singapore), led the firm’s team in the transaction.
Rajah & Tann Singapore has acted for the issue manager on the secondary listing of Comba Telecom Systems in Singapore, making it the first equity listing on the Main Board of the SGX-ST in 2023. Primarily listed in Hong Kong, Comba Telecom Systems is a global leading solution and service provider of wireless and information communications systems. Partner Tan Mui Hui led the firm’s team in the transaction.
TT&A is advising Asian Development Bank (ADB) on its US$-denominated term loan facility of up to US$131 million to Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal, an equal joint venture between J M Baxi Ports & Logistics and CMA Terminals, which will be involved in upgrading, operating and maintaining the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal in Navi Mumbai. The key financing documents for this transaction were executed on January 20, 2023. Subject to the applicable conditions being met, the borrower would be the first private concessionaire to operate and maintain a major port under the purview of the Major Port Authorities Act 2021 and the new concession agreement in relation to major ports. Partners Gautam Saha and Ambarish Mohanty led the firm’s team in the transaction.
TT&A has also advised the United States International Development Finance Corporation on its loan facility, via an external commercial borrowing, of up to US$5.17 million to ManiBhavnam Home Finance India, a housing finance company. Partners Gautam Saha and Pallavi Meena led the firm’s team in the transaction.
WongPartnership is acting for Wavemaker Partners, as a lead investor, on the US$5.2 million seed funding round of Pilon, a Singaporean fintech firm providing cloud-based supply chain financing system in South East Asia. Pilon will use the funds to improve its digital product offerings, and expand its footprint in markets like the Philippines and Cambodia. It also plans to foray into Vietnam, Thailand or Indonesia within the next year. Partner Kyle Lee is leading the firm’s team in the transaction.
WongPartnership has also acted for the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) on its disciplinary tribunal proceedings instituted against Dr Wee Teong Boo on three charges of professional misconduct. The firm has also represented SMC in the court proceedings, in which Dr Wee filed a court challenge seeking to stop the tribunal from admitting his police statements and his evidence given in the criminal trial in the disciplinary inquiry. Partners Melanie Ho and Chang Man Phing led the firm’s team in the matter.