The Legal 500

On March 8, 2010, The Bank of New York Mellon announced that it has agreed to acquire BHF Asset Servicing GmbH (BAS) from BHF-BANK Aktiengesellschaft and Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. S.C.A. for EUR 253 million, subject to regulatory approvals.

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Kim & Chang is pleased to announce a distinguished group of new partners and senior counsel. They exemplify the legal excellence and the high level of client service that distinguishes our firm in the marketplace. They will add to the success of their respective practices and contribute to our clients’ success.

Our new partners and senior counsel illustrate the firm’s continued wide-ranging growth in key practice areas. 

Kim & Chang has a growing list of honors for its representation of clients across the globe, as well as for excellence in the legal profession.

Kim & Chang’s recent honors recognize many of its 700 professionals and practice groups.

Hengeler Mueller has advised Landesbank Berlin AG (LBB) on the amendment to the act on the LBS Norddeutsche Landesbausparkasse Berlin-Hannover ("LBS-Nord-Gesetz"), a regional public building society.

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Hengeler Mueller advises Highstreet real estate joint venture in connection with landmark financial restructuring

 The "Highstreet" entities, owners of a portfolio of about 90 department stores let to insolvent German retailer Karstadt, have successfully restructured their financial debt obligations.

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At Kim & Chang, we offer unrivaled expertise on all aspects of public and private M&A transactions in Korea . Our Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group is widely recognized in Korea and throughout Asia as the best of its kind, and our preeminence in this practice area has been recognized over the years through the quality of our deals. The following is a summary of the firm’s recent engagements in 2009. 

KF Fastigheter has acquired parts of the trade area Mobilia in Lund, and will together with Arne Paulssons Byggnads AB develop the area, including i.a. a Coop supermarket. KF Fastigheter has in connection herewith sold a larger property in central Lund to Paulssons. Mannheimer Swartling advised KF Fastigheter.

Mannheimer Swartling has advised the owners in the sale of Kaul GmbH and UK-affiliate, Capol UK Ltd., to The Riverside Company.

Mannheimer Swartling has advised Proventus in connection with the establishment of Proventus Capital Partners – a co-investment vehicle focusing on corporate loans and corporate bonds. The investment strategy for this vehicle also allows direct loans to companies and the ambition is to contribute with financing to mid-sized companies in need of capital for growth or restructuring when these companies are unable to secure traditional bank financing.

Protego Real Estate Investors has been advised by Mannheimer Swartling on the sale of twelve retail properties situated throughout Sweden for a total value of approximately SEK 210 million.

Mannheimer Swartling has advised the Teracom Group in the divestiture of its subsidiary Comet Networks to CSIT. Comet Networks operates the Group's broadband business, currently reaching more than 650,000 households and 80,000 businesses in approximately 50 municipalities in Sweden.

Mannheimer Swartling has advised Södra Timber in connection with its acquisition of Ittur Prefab Industrier AB, the parent company of the Trivselhus Group, one of Sweden’s leading producers of prefabricated homes. Closing is expected to take place on 1 October 2009. The transaction is subject to inter alia competition clearance.

Mannheimer Swartling has assisted Varian Medical Systems in entering into agreements for delivery of a proton therapy system to Skandionkliniken. The agreements include supply of an estimated USD 60 million in products. Varian Medical Systems will also have a five year service agreement valued at approximately USD 25 million. Skandionkliniken is the first clinical centre for proton therapy in Scandinavia and will have a capacity of treating 1,000 – 2,500 cancer patients per year. Varian Medical Systems is the world’s leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer.

Mannheimer Swartling has advised Wallhamn AB on matters related to gaining approval for expansion of the port’s fairway to facilitate access for larger cargo ships. The port, owned by the Italian-based Grimaldi Group, is used for RoRo cargo, mainly in relation to the import and export of vehicles. The matter involved negotiations and permitting approval from, among others, the Swedish Transport Agency as well as other authorities and concerned parties. The firm recently also advised the Grimaldi Group on its acquisition of 50 per cent of port Wallhamn from EUKOR Car Carriers Inc, making the Grimaldi Group the sole owner of port Wallhamn.

Mannheimer Swartling has advised Stena Bulk AB in its new joint venture with Japanese shipping company Asahi Tankers. The joint venture company, Asahi Stena Tankers, will be owned 50/50 by the parties and will invest in tonnage of varying sizes, initially focusing on Suezmax tankers for global transportation of crude oil.

Mannheimer Swartling has advised Skandia Liv on an agreement with DnB NOR to manage a portfolio of assets valued at approximately SEK 80 billion. The agreement replaces a previous asset management agreement between the parties and covers DnB NOR’s continued management of a portfolio of Swedish shares and interest and includes a number of special mandates, amongst others in tactical allocation and advice on “socially responsible investing.”

Mannheimer Swartling has advised Morphic Technologies on the divestiture of ScanWind to GE Energy. ScanWind is a Norwegian-Swedish developer and supplier of wind-turbines and services for the coastal onshore and offshore market. The value of the transaction is SEK 130 million and is expected to be completed early September.

Loan agreements were signed on 1 July 2009 between Iceland and Denmark, Finland and Sweden respectively, and between Seðlabanki Íslands, guaranteed by Iceland and Norges Bank, guaranteed by Norway. Under the agreements the Nordic lenders have agreed to provide Iceland with total credits of ca. EUR 1.8 billion. The loans will be provided in relation to and as a support of Iceland’s economic stabilisation and reform programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The loans are intended to strengthen Iceland’s foreign exchange reserves.

Mannheimer Swartling advised ICA AB and ICA Finans AB in connection with a SEK 5 billion multicurrency revolving credit facility agreement entered into between the companies and a syndicate of Nordic banks. Zoran Stambolovski was responsible for the transaction, assisted by Gustav Nygren and Ludvig Frithiof.

Mannheimer Swartling has assisted Gjensidige Forsikring in connection with its acquisition of Länsförsäkringar International from Länsförsäkringar. Länsförsäkringar International provides casco and property insurance in Latvia and Lithuania. Gjensidige is market leading in property insurance in Norway. The company had approximately NOK 17 billion in premium revenue in 2008.

Mannheimer Swartling has assisted Cegedim S.A. in connection with its acquisition of the Nomi Group from Bisnode AB. The Nomi Group provides different data bases and CRM-tools to the Nordic pharmaceutical industry.

Mannheimer Swartling has advised COWI A/S in its acquisition of the business of Flygfältsbyrån AB (through an acquisition of FB Engineering AB, FB Management AB and AEC Investment AB and their subsidiaries). The target companies are engaged in, inter alia, the business of providing technical consultancy and project management services and services within virtual product development and digital visualization. Flygfältsbyrån AB, with headquarters in Gothenburg, has more than 60 years of experience in the business and approximately 760 employees.

Mannheimer Swartling has advised Stampen Media Partner AB in its acquisition of a majority position in the Mobiento group. Mobiento is the market leader in the Nordic mobile marketing business.

Hugo Rosa Ferreira, a lawyer specialising in banking and financial institutions, has just joined PLMJ’s banking and finance team, which is coordinated by partner Jorge de Brito Pereira. 

Mannheimer Swartling has advised the Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund (Sixth AP Fund) in the conversion of their shareholding in the R&D company Solibro AB for shares in Q-Cells SE, a German company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The Sixth AP Fund becomes the third largest shareholder in Q-Cells as a result of this transaction, which values the Sixth AP Fund's shareholding at approximately SEK 600 million.

Mannheimer Swartling is advising General Motors on the restructuring of its European operations, including i.a. the pooling of the Opel/Vauxhall assets under Adam Opel GmbH and the reorganization of Saab Automobile AB. Saab Automobile filed for a reorganization under Swedish Law in February 2009 and on June 17 the court in Vänersborg approved a 75 per cent writedown of Saab Automobile's more than SEK 10 billion of debt.

Nordea Bank Danmark A/S has been advised by Mannheimer Swartling in connection with the debt financing of SEK 460,000,000 of Synsam Service AB´s acquisition of Synsam optician stores throughout Sweden. The investors are Alipes AB and the selling store owners.

Mannheimer Swartling has advised Södra Timber in its acquisition of Rörvik Timber’s pressure treatment plant in Åstorp. The company currently has an annual production permit for 150,000 cubic metres of pressure-treated timber.

Vattenfall and the Volvo Car Corporation are launching an industrial joint venture partnership to introduce plug-in hybrids on the market. The technology will considerably lower the environmental impact from traffic.

Gamla Livförsäkringsaktiebolaget SEB Trygg Liv enters property management agreement with Aberdeen Property Investors AB

Shine Group has acquired Metronome Film & Television, the Nordic region’s largest and most pre-eminent production group, responsible for a string of hit programmes, for SEK 719 million

Mannheimer Swartling has advised Crawford & Company on corporate legal matters and transactions relating to a reorganisation and restructuring of its operations in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

Mannheimer Swartling has advised Telenor Sweden in establishing a joint venture with Tele2 Sweden to build and operate a 4G network. Telenor and Tele2 will be equal partners in the joint venture, Net4Mobility. The agreement also comprises spectrum sharing in the 900MHz and 2600MHz frequency bands, creating superior conditions for a nationwide 4G network in Sweden

Mannheimer Swartling has assisted Securitas in the update of its 1,5 billion euro Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) Programme listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and in connection with its issue of a 4-year, 500 million euro bond in the Eurobond market. The arranging banks were BNP Paribas, Nordea Bank Danmark A/S and Royal Bank of Scotland plc.

Mannheimer Swartling has advised Sandvik in connection with a EUR 3,000,000,000 Euro Medium Term Note Programme that was listed for trade on the London Stock Exchange in February 2009. Mannheimer Swartling has also advised Sandvik AB in connection with the first issue under the Programme in late February 2009.

Mannheimer Swartling has been advising on rights issues this year totaling more than SEK 50 billion. The firm has represented issuers and investors from both the public and private sector.

Autoliv has been advised by Mannheimer Swartling on matters concerning Swedish securities law and the Swedish securities market in connection with its offerings of common stock and equity units totalling $350 million. Autoliv plans to offer approximately $200 million in the form of common stock and $150 million in the form of equity units in underwritten public offerings in the U.S.

Ericsson has been advised by Mannheimer Swartling in the sale of its TEMS-branded products business to Ascom. With the divestment of the TEMS-branded business, consisting of tools for air interface monitoring and radio network planning, Ericsson is refining its leading Professional Services portfolio to focus more purely on the services business. The purchase price is CHF 190 million, excluding net of assets and liabilities

Fastighets AB Förvaltaren has been assisted by Mannheimer Swartling in connection with the sale of seven properties with an aggregate value of SEK 713 million to tenant-owners' associations in the municipality of Sundbyberg. More divestments are scheduled to be finalized during the spring and summer.

Mannheimer Swartling has together with the US law firm Davis & Gilbert assisted the global communications group Omnicom Group Inc. (owner of Gavin Anderson) in the merger of the Kreab group and the Gavin Anderson group into Kreab Gavin Anderson, a worldwide specialist financial, corporate and public affairs communications firm. Mannheimer Swartling was primarily responsible for matters relating to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Belgium.

Mannheimer Swartling has advised the Swedish National Debt Office in its sale of Carnegie Investment Bank AB and Max Matthiessen Holding AB to Altor and Bure Equity AB.

Swedish Match AB (publ) has been advised by Mannheimer Swartling in its new global joint venture with NYSE-listed Philip Morris International.

Ratos AB (publ) has been advised by Mannheimer Swartling in connection with an agreement to acquire up to an additional 48 % of the shares in its associate DIAB Group AB. The seller, 3i Holdings plc, is divesting its entire holding of 48 % of the shares in DIAB to Ratos and the company’s minority owners. Depending on the size of the offering subscribed by minority owners, Ratos’s holding in DIAB will amount to a total of between 91 and 96 % of the shares. The transaction value is appr. 400 MSEK.

The Stockholm Public Transport Authority (Sw. Stockholms Lokaltrafik, “SL”) has been advised by Mannheimer Swartling in connection with the outsourcing/procurement of the Stockholm metro operations. SL’s board decided on 20 January to award the contract to the Hong Kong-based MTR Corporation. The estimated contract value is SEK 35 billion and includes, in addition to metro operations, rolling stock maintenance, station services, cleaning and snow removal.

G & L Beijer AB has been advised by Mannheimer Swartling in connection with the acquisition of Carrier Corporation’s refrigeration wholesale distribution operations in Europe and South Africa (“Carrier ARW”). The value of the transaction is approximately SEK 1,1 billion.

Hassans international law firm is once again delighted to be ranked No 1 in the independent directory, Chambers Global 2010. Its stand-alone position further strengthens the firms’ reputation, expertise and quality of service to clients.

Perrins Solicitors LLP, the Hertfordshire based law firm specialising in Social Housing, has continued to boost its capability with the arrival of two new solicitors, Richard Sharpe and Nicholas Pickersgill.

On 28 Februar 2010, Merck KGaA, a global pharmaceutical and chemical company, and Millipore Corporation, a leading life science company based in Massachusetts/USA, announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Merck will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Millipore.

On 22 February 2010 the UK Border Agency (UKBA) is introducing changes to the sponsorship management system which will affect tier 2 and tier 5 sponsors. The final phase of tier 4 of the points based system is also being introduced.

The UK Border Agency has announced proposed fee changes for immigration and nationality applications for 2010/11 that are set at levels above the administrative costs of the service. The negative regulations that specify the fees set at or below the administrative costs of the service will be laid in Parliament on 10 February 2010.