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Cravath, Swaine & Moore, New York, is representing the US drugstore chain Revco in its acquisition by rival CVS. The US$2.8 billion stock swap merger will mean CVS becomes the US's second largest drugstore chain by sales.The team of Cravath lawyers comprises corporate partners Alan Stephenson, Philip Gelston and Richard Hall, assisted by corporate associates Caroline Gottschalk, Andrew Woeber, Richard Cundiff and Andrew Pitts. Partner Michael Schler and associate Craig McCracken are advising on tax law, while senior attorney Henry Morgenbesser and associate Scott Price are handling employee benefits issues. Also advising is senior attorney Jeffrey Smith, specializing in environmental law, and special antitrust counsel is Louis Sernoff from Baker & Hostetler, Washington DC.

US industrial equipment group Ingersoll-Rand acquired Newman Tonks, a UK architectural hardware company, in an agreed £230 million (US$368 million) bid.

Roche Holding of Switzerland is buying US company Tastemaker for an estimated US$1 billion. The transaction is planned to boost Roche's flavours and fragrances division, Givaudan-Roure.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) made the first issue of Euro-denominated bonds, under Luxembourg law. The Euro 1 billion 5.25% notes are due in 2004 and will be payable in Ecu until the third stage of monetary union (planned for January 1999), and thereafter in Euros. Banque Paribas, Caisse des Depôts et Consignations and Swiss Bank Corporation managed the issue.

International marine container lessor, passenger transport and hotels company Sea Containers has completed a securitization of marine cargo containers. This is the first securitization using equipment rather than a stream of payments as assets. The transaction involved the transfer by Sea Containers of a portion of its marine containers and related assets to a special purpose Bermuda subsidiary, Sea Containers SPC. SPC is using the equipment as collateral for up to US$200 million in notes.

Telecommunications provider Compañía Anónima Nacional Teléfonos de Venezuela (CANTV) issued US$200 million in Yankee bonds through its Cayman Islands subsidiary CANTV Finance. This is the first issuance of Yankee bonds by a Venezuelan corporation. Chase Securities acted as lead underwriter, with Goldman Sachs as co-manager.

Chinese conglomerate CITIC Pacific acquired a 20% stake in China Light & Power, the monopoly provider of electricity to the Kowloon peninsula. CITIC Pacific, a subsidiary of the state-owned China International Trust and Investment Corporation, already has stakes in the airline Cathay Pacific and various trading and property companies. The deal may allow China Light & Power to supply the Chinese mainland with electricity.

Canadian firm Tory Tory DesLauriers & Binnington has closed its Hong Kong office after five years. The move follows the departure of partner Melissa Thomas to UK rival Freshfields.

Two articles in the November 1996 edition of International Financial Law Review featured structures for securitization and repackaging of assets which are increasingly being located in and partly governed by the laws of Jersey. The articles entitled 'Emerging markets cash flow securitizations take off' and 'Asset repackaging wins further followers' dealt with a wide range of assets which can be repackaged or securitized, often through an offshore SPV, with the funding contributed by a medium-term note or a short-term commercial paper issue.

The income tax liability of a recipient of profits on the disposal of assets has long been a grey area of income tax law. Problems arise when trying to distinguish between taxable income and non-taxable capital gains. The recent decision of the Privy Council in Rangatira Limited v The Commissioner of Inland Revenue provided an opportunity to clarify the law in this area. Hence the decision had been keenly awaited by the New Zealand investment market.