Search results for

UK firm Allen & Overy is continuing the rapid expansion of its Moscow office. This follows the arrival last year of two lawyers from US firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy's Moscow office.

Leading international Italian firm Studio Legale Fondato da Francesco Carnelutti has opened an office in Rome. The office will be integrated with the firm's Milan office.

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.

UK firm Lovell White Durrant's Paris office has gained a partner and two senior associates, and expects to announce two further appointments soon. At the same time, it loses a lawyer to rival Norton Rose. Lovell White partner Milan Chromocek moves from Prague to boost the intellectual property practice in Paris. Philippe Thomas, senior associate at local firm JC Goldsmith, becomes senior associate at Lovell White. He specializes in commercial law. Serge Cohen joins from US firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in Paris, where he was a senior associate specializing in mergers and acquisitions.

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.

Spanish firms J & A Garrigues and Arthur Andersen ALT have completed their merger with partners approving the new partnership on January 31 1997. The firm will be known as J & A Garrigues Andersen with Andersen staff relocating to Garrigues' offices as much for symbolic as practical reasons. "We want to differentiate them clearly and move them away from where they were," comments Ramon Lladó, partner from the former J & A Garrigues.

International investment bank Morgan Stanley is to merge with US retail financial services firm Dean Witter, Discover. The merger will create the US's biggest securities firm in terms of capital, with an estimated market capitalization of US$20 billion and total assets under management of US$270 billion.

Canada's Stikeman, Elliott opened an office in Sydney on February 4. Sydney is the firm's 14th office, and the ninth outside Canada. The office will be staffed by Roy Randall, Brian Hansen and Elizabeth Turner.

The revised provisions of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) regarding joint stock companies have improved the legal position of 'participants'. A 'participant' is the holder of participation certificates, which are part of the participation capital and have a par value.