Global law firm White & Case LLP has jointly advised Nomura International plc on Zhejiang Geely Holding Group's (Geely) acquisition of the activist fund Cevian Capital's entire shareholding in AB Volvo, the leading global manufacturer of trucks and the largest listed company in Sweden.

The transaction represents 8.2 percent of the shares and 15.6 percent of the votes in AB Volvo. The investment follow's Geely's acquisition of Volvo Car Group from Ford Motor Company in 2010, and is the largest exit ever by an activist fund. It is structured so that Nomura and Barclays acquire Cevian Capital's shares and then sell the shares to Geely once Geely has received all necessary government approvals.

"This deal is yet another example of our continued involvement in the largest and most strategically significant transactions in the Nordics," said Stockholm-based White & Case partner Johan Steen, who co-led the Firm's deal team alongside Stockholm partner Darragh Byrne.

Other significant transactions involving the Nordics on which White & Case advised during 2017 include Ingenico's €1.5 billion acquisition of Bambora, the largest private M&A deal in Sweden; Bridgepoint's US$ 929 million sale of Nordic Cinema Group, the second largest private M&A deal in Sweden; Blackstone's US$4 billion acquisition of Sponda, the second largest M&A deal in Finland; Toyota Industries €1.2 billion acquisition of Vanderlande Industries, the largest Swedish outbound M&A deal; and Telia Company AB's US$1 billion sale of its stake in Megafon.

The White & Case team which advised on the transaction was co-led by partners Johan Steen and Darragh Byrne (both Stockholm), and included partners Carl Hugo Parment (Stockholm) and Ingrid York (London) with support from associates Johan Thiman, Per Svantesson, Alexander Berlin-Jarhamn (all Stockholm) and Richard Blackburn (London).