In Brief

Clifford Chance advised on the United Kingdom's inaugural £200 million sukuk issuance. Clifford Chance has advised HSBC Bank plc in its role as structuring bank and Barwa Bank, CIMB, HSBC Bank plc, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered Bank as joint lead managers and also HSBC Bank plc as agent on the inaugural £200 million sukuk issuance by HM Treasury in the United Kingdom. The sukuk uses an ijara structure, a Shari'ah compliant leasing structure, which allows the rental income of three central UK government offices to underpin the transaction.

Reed Smith has advised alongside a raft of European firms on Swedish pharmaceuticals company Meda’s acquisition of its Italian rival Rottapharm for £1.8bn. The transaction followed a cancelled IPO by Rottapharm, which failed to achieve the valuation sought by its owner, the Rovati family. Reed Smith advised longstanding client Meda on the transaction, led by life sciences partners John Wilkinson and Nicola Maguire.

DLA Piper and Fasken Martineau have advised Nigerian oil company Oando Energy Resources on its USD1.65bn acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ Nigerian upstream oil and gas business. The pair worked alongside Nigerian firm Olajide & Oyewole on the deal, instructed by Oando chief legal officer Ngozi Okonkwo. ConocoPhillips is understood to have managed the transaction in-house. The deal is one of the largest transactions in sub-Saharan Africa this year.