Milbank Wins Two Deal of the Year Awards from China Business Law Journal

NEW YORK, December 12, 2012 – Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy’s Asia team has won two awards at the recently announced China Business Law Journal Deal of the Year Awards. Milbank won China Joint Venture Deal of the Year for its work in advising China Investment Corporation (CIC) on its US$1.6 billion J/V leveraged buyout of Modern Logistics Facilities in Japan from La Salle Investment Management. The firm also won China Debt Deal of the Year for advising Nord Anglia Education (UK) Holding plc, and its investor Baring Private Equity Partners Asia, on Nord Anglia’s US$325 million bank-bond.

The CIC transaction was the China sovereign fund’s first direct investment in Japan’s real estate sector, and was one of Japan’s largest property deals. The structure was extremely complex involving multiple jurisdictions in order to achieve a tax efficient structure for both parties and to comply with Japanese and other regulations. The deal was also named Japan Real Estate Deal of the Year earlier this year. Lead lawyers on the transaction for Milbank were partner Anthony Root and of counsel Chen Li in Beijing.

Nord Anglia is a leading global operator of private schools in China, Switzerland and Central Europe. It is a portfolio company of Baring Private Equity, one of the largest Asia-based private equity firms with US$5 billion of assets. The transaction was a state-of-the-art bank/bond deal and one of the few sponsor dividend financings in Asia. The financing involved a New York law 144A high yield bond, and English law "super senior" revolver and intercreditor bank arrangements. The deal was particularly complicated due to the multi-jurisdictional security and guarantor package and restrictive regulations in China and other countries. The deal was led by Milbank partners Anthony Root and Joshua Zimmerman in Hong Kong and Suhrud Mehta in London.