In Brief (September 2013)

1) Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Sullivan & Cromwell have advised on Samsung’s USD350 million acquisition of German technology company Novaled. Samsung Electronics and Cheil Skadden acted for Samsung and Cheil with a team led by Frankfurt M&A partner Matthias Horbach and New York corporate partner Young Shin. Citi provided financial advice. US rival Sullivan & Cromwell acted for the sellers, with a group of lawyers led by Germany M&A partner York Schnorbus. Fox Corporate Finance acted as advisers to Novaled and its shareholders. 

2) Wong & Partners has represented Malaysia’s BIMB Holdings Bhd on its USD884 million purchase of a 49 per cent stake in Bank Islam, the country’s oldest and largest standalone Islamic bank, from the Dubai Financial Group and Lembaga Tabung Haji. Zaid Ibrahim & Co. advised Dubai Financial Group, with Zul Rafique & partners acting as counsel to Lembaga Tabung Haji. The Wong & Partners team was led by partners Munir Abdul Aziz and Wong Sue Wan, and also includes partner Mark Lim. 

3) Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Reed Smith Richards Butler are advising Tesco and China Resources Enterprise (CRE) as the companies look to launch a joint venture for the operation of retail stores in Greater China. Acting for Tesco on the proposed Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Overseeing the London team is Claire Wills, who is head of Freshfields’ retail sector. Representing CRE is Reed Smith Richards Butler, with a team led by Hong Kong based corporate partner Ivy Lai.