SIG plc (“SIG”), Europe’s leading specialist solutions provider to the construction industry has announced the acquisition of the Ainsworth Group for an undisclosed sum.

The Ainsworth Group is a distributor of thermal, acoustic, fire and building insulation products operating from six branches across the South East, South West, Midlands and Wales. The Business has a strong position in the Technical Insulation market, with an excellent reputation for service and technical support.
 

Slaughter and May is advising Palamon Capital Partners and Corsair Capital on their joint acquisition of Currencies Direct, a leading provider of currency exchange and international payment solutions to private and corporate clients.

Currencies Direct has an established market presence in the UK, Europe, Australia, South Africa and the United States. The transaction is valued at approximately £200 million and is expected to complete by the end of 2015, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.

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DLA Piper has advised Westland Horticulture on its pre-pack acquisition of William Sinclair, one of the leading horticultural firms in the UK, taking the latter out of administration.
 
The purchase will include William Sinclair's Ellesmere Port facility and additional manufacturing assets; Sinclair’s brands, J. Arthur Bowers, New Horizon, Growing Success and Deadfast, as well as Silverperl and professional growing media businesses.
 

Terroirs Distillers, a family-run spirits group, has entered into final and exclusive negotiations with Suntory France, the French subsidiary of the Japanese group Suntory Holdings, for the acquisition of the cognac group Louis Royer. The value of the deal is estimated at €100 million. To complete the deal, Terroirs Distillers joined forces with long-term partner Unigrains, a finance provider specialising in the agricultural food industry.

A team from the Reed Smith Paris office is advising Terroirs Distillers and Unigrains on the purchase, including:

Dufry AG has closed the acquisition of the 50.1% stake of World Duty Free S.p.A. from Edizione S.r.l. for EUR 10.25 per share in cash, corresponding to a total consideration of EUR 1,310 million. Subsequently, Dufry AG will launch a mandatory tender offer in Italy for the remaining 49.9% shares for an offer price of EUR 10.25 per share. The acquisition will enhance Dufry AG's position in the global duty-free and travel retail market with a market share of approximately 24% and operations in 62 countries and close to 400 locations.

Mayer Brown has advised the world's leading semiconductor intellectual property (IP) supplier, ARM Holdings plc, on its acquisition of Israel-based Sansa Security, a provider of hardware security IP and software for advanced system-on-chip components deployed in Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile devices.

Sansa Security currently enables security in more than 150 million products a year and its technology is deployed across a range of smart connected devices and enterprise systems, complementing and extending ARM’s security technology capability.

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, a leading counselor to global corporations and financial institutions, recently advised All-Stars Investment Limited (All-Stars), a specialized Greater China TMT-focused investment fund, as the lead investor on the US$300 million Series D financing of Tujia.com International (Tujia) with other co-investors in the transaction, including Ctrip.com and The Ascott Limited.

Corporate real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle acquires AVM Partners, a leading Turkish shopping center management company known for Palladium, 212 AVM, and Neoplus.

"We were pleased to advise JLL on this strategic acquisition. JLL and AVM Partners are major players in Turkey's real estate sector and this acquisition paves the way for JLL's further expansion due to the combined expertise of both companies," commented Partner Duygu Turgut.

Union Bancaire Privée, UBP SA, and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc entered into a definitive agreement regarding the sale and purchase of the international private banking activities of Coutts in Switzerland, Monaco, Singapore, Hong Kong, DIFC, Dubai and Abu Dhabi with around CHF 30 billion of client assets with approximately 1,300 employees. Closing of the transaction is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and other conditions usual for this type of transaction.

Osborne Clarke assisted the British company Rotork PLC, a leading manufacturer of actuators and fluid control, the acquisition of M&M based in Bergamo (Italy), a subsidiary of Spirax-Sparco specialising in the production of advanced solutions for fluid control. The transaction is valued at approximately 10 million euros.