Australia
King & Wood Mallesons Sydney partners Peter Doyle, Mark Upfold and Claire Rogers are advising a consortium led by Australia’s largest toll road operator, Transurban Group, on a $6.6 billion acquisition of regional competitor Queensland Motorways Ltd. State-owned investment fund QIC Ltd. is selling Queensland Motorways as part of a nationwide effort by the government to encourage domestic and foreign investment in the infrastructure sector. Transurban has a 62.5 percent stake in the consortium, which also includes pension fund Australian Super Pty. Ltd. and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The acquisition will add 70 kilometers of tolled roads in Queensland to Transurban’s current portfolio, which includes roads in Melbourne, Sydney and the United States. Herbert Smith Freehills Melbourne partner Andrew Clark is also acting for Transurban on the transaction. Allens Sydney partners Tom Story and Kylie Brown are representing QIC. [Read full story]
Gilbert + Tobin Sydney partners Andrew Bullock and Rachael Bassil are advising Melbourne-based facilities management company Spotless Group Ltd. on a $930 million initial public offering. The deal is actually a relisting of Spotless. In 2012 Pacific Equity Partners took the company private for $670 million but is now selling half of its 73 percent. The sell-down, along with stake sales by coinvestors and Spotless Group management, will put 51 percent of the company’s shares on the market. In a prospectus filed with the exchange, Spotless said it was raising funds in order to pay down existing debt and further grow the business. Herbert Smith Freehills Sydney partner Philippa Stone is acting for joint lead managers Citigroup Global Markets Australia Pty. Ltd., Deutsche Bank A.G. and UBS A.G. [Read full story]
King & Wood Mallesons Brisbane partner Stefan Luke is advising Australian energy companies Horizon Oil Ltd. on a merger with Sydney-based Roc Oil Co. Ltd. that will create a new company with a market capitalization of $740 million. In the all-stock transaction, Horizon shareholders will get 0.724 shares of Roc for each Horizon share they hold. Once the deal is completed, Horizon shareholders will control 58 percent of the newly merged company, with Roc shareholders controlling 42 percent. The deal allows the two companies to diversify their respective assets outside of the offshore areas they each currently have in northern and southern China. The deal is expected to close in August following approval by Horizon shareholders. Herbert Smith Freehills is acting for Roc Oil. [Read full story]
China/Hong Kong
Davis Polk & Wardwell Hong Kong partners Eugene Gregor and James Lin have advised state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp. on a $4 billion bond offering. CNOOC is issuing the dollar-denominated notes in three tranches: $1.25 billion in three-year notes, $2.25 billion of 10-year notes and $500 million of 30-year notes. According to a statement, the company will use the proceeds to repay funds borrowed to finance its $15.1 billion acquisition of Canada’s energy company Nexen Inc. in 2013, the largest-ever foreign acquisition by a Chinese company. Linklaters Hong Kong partners David Ludwick and William Liu advised underwriters BOCI Asia Ltd., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA), Deutsche Bank AG Singapore Branch, Goldman Sachs (Asia), J.P. Morgan Securities, Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc. and UBS AG Hong Kong Branch. [Read full story]
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Hong Kong partner Kathryn Sudol is advising Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on a $1.22 investment in online video company Youku Tudou Inc. Hangzhou-based Alibaba and chairman Jack Ma’s Yunfeng Capital will jointly hold a 18.5 percent stake in Nasdaq-listed Youku Tudou, the result of a $1.1 billion merger between Chinese YouTube-like video sites Youku and Tudou in 2012. The deal is Alibaba’s latest move to expand its online media offerings amid fierce competition with Shenzhen-based Tencent Holdings Ltd., which operates its own QQ Video site. Fangda Partners are advising Alibaba on Chinese law, with Walkers serving as Cayman Islands counsel. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Hong Kong partner Julie Gao is representing Youku Tudou, with TransAsia Lawyers advising on Chinese law. Maples and Calder is Cayman Islands counsel to Youku Tudou. O’Melveny & Myers New York partner Paul Scrivano and Silicon Valley partner Steven Tonsfeldt are advising 1Verge Holdings Ltd., the largest shareholder in Youku Tudou. [Read full story]
Minter Ellison Hong Kong partner Barbara Mok has advised China’s Guosen Securities Co. Ltd. on a $191 million renminbi-denominated bond issue on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. State-owned Guosen Securities, which is based in Shenzhen, provides brokerages, investment banking and other financial services to retail and institutional clients at 70 branches in China and Hong Kong. King & Wood Mallesons Hong Kong partners Richard Mazzochi and Minny Siu advised underwriters Guotai Junan Securities (Hong Kong) Ltd., Morgan Stanley, Wing Lung Bank Ltd. and BOC International.
