Two Award Winning Deals for Appleby

Leading offshore legal services provider Appleby provided Jersey advice on two award winning deals, which won the “European Deal of the Year” at the Private Equity Real Estate 2012 Awards and the “Energy and Resources Deal of the Year” at the ALB China 2011 law awards.

The Jersey team, led by Andrew Weaver – Partner and Leader of Funds & Investment Services, advised on the Jersey regulatory and legal issues on the acquisition, and also senior and mezzanine financing for Blackstone Real Estate Partners in connection with the £480 million acquisition of the Chiswick Park Unit Trust, owner of Chiswick Park, a 1.8m square foot office park in London.

The size of the transaction and its complexity reflected its importance which secured its win as “European Deal of the Year”. The unit trust was structured as an investment fund and involved dealing with a diverse array of sellers as well as a complex and substantial financial package. The subsequent securitisation of the financing structure was the first true European CMBS securitisation since the start of the financial crisis.

The Jersey office also acted as counsel for the Aluminum Corporation of China (“Chinalco”), on in its US$1.35 billion joint venture with global mining company Rio Tinto, involving the development and operation of the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. The deal won “Energy and Resources Deal of the Year” at the ALB China 2011 law awards and was remarkable as it represented a joint venture between two very active and large resources players and also a first step in the development of mining market in China. The Jersey team was lead by Partner Mark Lewis and Counsel Alastair Drummond.

Chinalco acquired a 47 per cent interest in the new joint venture by providing US$1.35 billion on an earn-in basis through sole funding of ongoing development work over the next two to three years.

Chinalco is the world's second largest alumina producer and the third largest primary aluminum producer. Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Appleby Partner and Group Head of Corporate and Commercial in Jersey Mark Lewis commented, “We are delighted to have been involved in these award winning deals. Both transactions were complex, and required significant effort of all concerned. These transactions are another example of Appleby's capability to handle high-profile and high-end deals across our jurisdictions. We are pleased that both deals have received these conveted awards.”