DLA Piper, together with Herzog Fox & Neeman, lead counsel to the financial adviser Citi, had advised on the acquisition of Plarium Global by Aristocrat Leisure. The USD 500 million deal is due to complete before 2018 and is likely to be one of the largest deals of its kind within the Israeli market.

Both companies are involved in producing popular entertainment content. Aristocrat Leisure Limited, based in Australia, is one of the largest manufacturers of gaming solutions in the world. Plarium Ltd, headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, is a social gaming developer with over 1,200 employees worldwide and offices in the US and Europe, including Ukraine and Russia.

DLA Piper advised on the Ukrainian legal aspects of the transaction, including due diligence of the Ukrainian business division of Plarium, drafting and the negotiation of transactional documents.

The team was led by partner and Head of Competition in Ukraine, Galyna Zagorodniuk, senior associate, Dmytro Tkachenko, and associate Artem Hrytsak. Additional support was provided by partner and Head of Real Estate Practice, Natalia Kochergina, and partner and Head of Intellectual Property Practice, Natalia Pakhomovska, and their teams.

Commenting on the news, Galyna Zagorodniuk said: "We are delighted to work together with Herzog Fox & Neeman on such a complex transaction, one that is likely to become one of the most important deals in the sector".