While many were keen to see the back of 2016, IFLR1000's selection of deal announcements from December presented a different proposition with a good number of deals across M&A, capital markets, and projects across a host of industries. The energy, oil and gas, industrials and manufacturing, and technology sectors were the most active, and there were a series of significant—and some unusual—transactions in vibrant markets.
21st Century Fox made a bid to acquire the 61% stake it doesn't already own in Sky for £18.5 billion, and Chinese technology company Meitu—a maker of apps that edit users’ selfies to enlarge eyes, whiten skin and thin jaws—launched a $710 million HKSE IPO, one of the largest in the Chinese tech sector since Alibaba; also city-state Macau hit the headlines with one of Asia's largest high-yield issuances in 2016 as Studio City—a Hollywood-inspired, cinematically-themed resort—made a $1.2 billion senior secured notes offering.
Deal values were a fair bit lower when compared to last month with White & Case and Allen & Overy leading the field and Eversheds and CMS making notable appearances. However, in the spirit of Christmas shopping, deal volumes were up and Kirkland & Ellis ended the year—as it had enjoyed most of it—on top with 34 deals, its sixth month in pole position.
Elsewhere the National Grid—the UK gas and electricity distribution network—agreed to sell a 61% shareholding in its gas distribution network to a consortium led by Macquarie for £13.8 billion; British multinational oil company BP successfully acquired a majority stake in the offshore exploration blocks of Kosmos Energy in Senegal and Mauritania for $916 million; and GoDaddy reached an agreement to acquire Host Europe Group (HEG) for €1.69 billion from Cinven. Globally, there was also a spate of capital markets work with Bermuda-based retirement services and life insurance holding company Athene Holding undertaking the third largest US IPO in 2016 at $1.08 billion; Pilipinas Shell Petroleum (Pilipinas Shell) launched a $400 million IPO on the Philippine Stock Exchange; and Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Mexico's state oil company, issued $5.5 billion of new notes.
If you have any public deal announcements you would like us to take into account for our reports please send them to - amajeed@iflr1000.com
It's a New Year and the EMEA launch of IFLR1000 Deal Data—a fully searchable database whose BETA version went live in May last year—has almost arrived. This database of significant deal records from over 120 countries will include searchable and filterable data on the most significant legal transactions from around the globe, and all of our featured monthly deals will be included along with many more garnered from the IFLR1000's own research, press releases and other deal announcements.
Below you can access our top picks for December 2016 linked to their record in the new deals database.
Adam Majeed - Asia-Editor
Mergermarket table 1 - Law firms by global M&A deal value
Mergermarket table 2 - Law firms by global M&A deal volume
Deal 1: 21st Century Fox £18.5 billion acquisition of Sky
Jurisdictions: United States, United Kingdom
Deal type: Public acquisition
Industry sectors: Media, Entertainment
Deal 2: Amandi Energy 200MW combined cycle dual-fuel power plant
Jurisdictions: Ghana
Deal type: Project development, Project finance
Industry sectors: Energy
Deal 3: Athene Holding NYSE IPO
Jurisdictions: United States, Bermuda
Deal type: IPO
Industry sectors: Insurance
Deal 4: Blackstone Group €1 billion acquisition of Acetow from Solvay
Jurisdictions: Belgium
Deal type: Private acquisition
Industry sectors: Industrials and manufacturing
Deal 5: BP $916 million acquisition of a stake in Kosmos Energy's exploration blocks
Jurisdictions: Bermuda, Senegal, United Kingdom, Mauritania
Deal type: Private acquisition
Industry sectors: Oil and gas
Deal 6: Copec acquisition of Fuel and Lubricant Businesses from ExxonMobil
Jurisdictions: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Deal type: Public acquisition
Industry sectors: Oil and gas
Deal 7: EuroChem $800 million pre-export financing
Jurisdictions: Russia
Deal type: Corporate finance
Industry sectors: Industrials and manufacturing
Deal 8: GoDaddy €1.69 billion acquisition of Host Europe Group
Jurisdictions: Germany
Deal type: Private acquisition
Industry sectors: Technology and telecommunications
Deal 9: Kansai Paint $572 million acquisition of Helios Group
Jurisdictions: Japan, Austria, Slovenia
Deal type: Public acquisition
Industry sectors: Industrials and manufacturing
Deal 10: LGT Group acquires ABN AMRO's Asia and Middle East private banking business
Jurisdictions: Hong Kong, Singapore
Deal type: Private acquisition
Industry sectors: Banking
Deal 11: Meitu $710 million HKSE IPO
Jurisdictions: Hong Kong
Deal type: IPO
Industry sectors: Technology and telecommunications
Deal 12: National Grid £13.8 billion sale of 61% stake in gas distribution network
Jurisdictions: United Kingdom
Deal type: Public acquisition
Industry sector: Energy
Deal 13: Parker-Hannifin $4.3 billion acquisition of Clarcor
Jurisdictions: United States
Deal type: Public acquisition
Industry sectors: Industrials and manufacturing
Deal 14: Pemex $5.5 billion MTN issue
Jurisdictions: Mexico, Luxembourg
Deal type: Investment grade bond/note issue
Industry sectors: Oil and gas
Deal 15: Pilipinas Shell Petroleum $400 million IPO
Jurisdictions: Philippines
Deal type: IPO
Industry sectors: Energy
Deal 16: Studio City $1.2 billion senior secured notes high-yield issue
Jurisdictions: Macau
Deal type: High-yield bond/note issue
Industry sectors: Gaming, Entertainment
Reporters
Sam Duke - Editor
Adam Majeed - Asia-Pacific Editor
Ben Naylor - EMEA Editor
John Crabb - Journalist EMEA
Jon Moore - Journalist EMEA
Wai Yee Tsang - Journalist Asia-Pacific
Rani Mehta - Journalist Latin America
Kurt Stumpo - Journalist - North America and the Caribbean