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A Delaware court has rejected claims of vote buying in the shareholder vote for Hewlett-Packard’s merger with Compaq. Meredith Brown and Gary Kubek of Debevoise & Plimpton, New York, examine the decision

Since the implementation of Council Directive 92/50/EEC of June 18 1992 relating to the coordination of procedures for the award of public service contracts (the Directive), the public procurement rules also apply to financial services with the exception of central bank and financial services that relate to the issuance, sale, purchase or transfer of securities and other financial instruments.

Linklaters and Clifford Chance act on first UK hospital refinancing

After initially buying 9.9% of Storebrand last year to block a rival bid, Den Norske Bank (DnB) has now agreed a full merger with the company, which values the Norwegian insurer at about $1.8 billion. In spring 2001, DnB took advantage of Norway's controversial laws on the ownership of financial institutions to block a takeover bid for Storebrand by Sampo of Finland. DnB used Norway's Financial Institutions Act, which states that no party can hold more than 10% of a Norwegian financial institution unless it bids for more than 90%, to force Sampo to drop its approach.

Herbert Smith and Clifford Chance have advised on Malaysia's largest initial public offering. The $800 million deal for Maxis Communications, sold into the US under Rule 144A, represents a huge step forward for the Malaysian market. Maxis ran a beauty contest to select its legal representation, choosing Clifford Chance for its strong telecoms practice and its US-law team, headed by Crawford Brickley in Singapore. Brickley was also lead partner for this deal, which involved giving a 10b-5 opinion to the US SEC.

David Bernstein's departure from the role of chief counsel at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has left the way open for Michel Nussbaumer to take charge of a restructured team. Nussbaumer has been promoted to senior counsel and team leader of the bank's new Legal Transition and Knowledge Management Team. The initiative will involve an expanded team of lawyers and specialists, which will use the experiences gained through working in the EBRD's 27 countries of operation to sustain a transparent and predictable legal environment.

Shareholders' rights and investor protection will face more scrutiny in Hong Kong following moves to give more power and status to a group representing investor interests. The Securities and Futures Commission has formalized its Shareholders Group as a statutory standing committee, giving it more say when advising the watchdog on policymaking and matters of concern relating to public and minority shareholders in listed companies.

David Becker, the general counsel of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) until May 7, is to join Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Becker will join the firm's securities transaction and enforcement practice as a partner in Washington DC, where he will advise clients on capital markets activities, representing clients in SEC and other investigations, on corporate governance issues and in other SEC regulatory matters.

The CMS alliance is expanding its presence in China after relocating UK, French and German lawyers to the new Shanghai office of Bureau Francis Lefebvre. CMS's French member opened its first Chinese operation this month to focus on corporate and commercial work, insurance and construction, after being awarded a licence by the Chinese Ministry of Justice at the end of 2001.

Brazil has introduced guidelines allowing domestic banks and financial companies to access the market for credit derivatives. Walter Douglas Stuber and Adriana Gödel Stuber of Amaro, Stuber e Advogados, São Paulo, explain