White & Case LLP - News - White & Case Scoops Nordic Award Double


Banking and Finance Capital Markets Litigation and Arbitration Mergers & Acquisitions Other Practices

White & Case Scoops Nordic Award Double
Stockholm and Helsinki offices win IFLR Law Firm of the Year 2011 awards for Sweden and Finland

Stockholm, 2011-03-24 ... White & Case LLP received two 'Law Firm of the Year' awards at the International Financial Law Review European 2011 awards night, held at The Dorchester in London on 23rd March, 2011, with the Stockholm and Helsinki offices of the Firm winning these prestigious awards for Sweden and Finland, respectively.

IFLR's annual awards are based on broad research by its staff including extensive interviews with clients and practicing lawyers, with particular attention given to legal innovation in cross-border transactions.

White & Case executive partner in Stockholm, Ulf Johansson said, "We are delighted to receive these awards for 2011 and to be recognized for being at the forefront of the transaction-driven legal practice in the Nordic region. Although White & Case is a global law firm and the vast majority of our work is cross-border in nature, we also emphasize our local presence: our ability to support our local clients in their transactions is very important to us. In both Stockholm and Helsinki, we have market leading M&A, Capital Markets and Bank Finance practices and I believe that this award is in recognition of our strengths in all of these areas."

Some of White & Case's work by its Stockholm and Helsinki offices in 2010 that led to receipt of their awards includes:

Stockholm: Advising Nordea on financing of SEK 2 billion private equity purchase and related target refinancing of AcadeMedia's existing financial indebtedness. The refinancing was financed pursuant to a second set of deal documents, which was necessitated by the structure of the acquisition;
Stockholm: Advising Stadshypotek AB (publ) on its US$15 billion US Medium Term Covered Bond Program and follow-on issuance of US$1 billion of 1.45% Covered Bonds due 2013 and US$600 million of floating rate Covered Bonds due 2013. These were the first ever issuances of covered bonds in the United States by a Nordic issuer.
Stockholm: Advising Nordic Capital company Cidron Intressenter AB in its successful public tender offer for all shares in Munters AB (publ) with a total offer value of SEK 5,693 million (EUR 615 million). The offer was made in competition with a public offer made by Alfa Laval AB (publ) and was the largest public take-over in Sweden since the beginning of the financial crisis in early 2008. The transaction was granted the Deal of Year award by Swedish business magazine Veckans Affärer.
Helsinki: Advising UPM-Kymmene Corporation on its proposed acquisition of Myllykoski Group and Rhein Papier with an enterprise value of approximately €900 million and the related acquisition financing as well as the financial restructuring of both the Myllykoski Group and Rhein Papier;
Helsinki: Representing Talvivaara Mining Company Plc, a Finnish mining company listed on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, on its €225 million initially cash-settling convertible bond offering, the first of its kind by a Finnish publicly traded company.

About White & Case Stockholm
The White & Case Stockholm office offers clients substantial experience in complex issues of Swedish law and regulation and the resources of a leading global law firm. The 45 lawyers in our Stockholm office, which was established in 1983, practice all aspects of Swedish law and represent clients in arbitrations and in Swedish courts. Key practice areas include mergers and acquisitions, banking, securities and capital markets and dispute resolution.

About White & Case Helsinki
The White & Case Helsinki office was opened in 1992. Today, it has almost 30 lawyers advising Finnish and international clients on a broad range of M&A, Capital Markets, and Bank Finance transactions. In addition to these core practice areas, the Helsinki office also advises clients on Financial Restructuring and Insolvency, Real Estate and Competition/EU law.

About White & Case
White & Case LLP is a leading global law firm with lawyers in 37 offices in 25 countries. Among the first US-based law firms to establish a truly global presence, we provide counsel and representation in virtually every area of law that affects cross-border business. Our clients value both the breadth of our global network and the depth of our US, English and local law capabilities in each of our regions and rely on us for their complex cross-border transactions, as well as their representation in arbitration and litigation proceedings.

Contact:
Jane Jardine
Media Relations Executive
+44 (0) 207 532 2844

	News
Ulf Johansson Office Stockholm	White & Case Scoops Nordic Award Double Stockholm and Helsinki offices win IFLR Law Firm of the Year 2011 awards for Sweden and Finland Stockholm, 2011-03-24 ... White & Case LLP received two 'Law Firm of the Year' awards at the International Financial Law Review European 2011 awards night, held at The Dorchester in London on 23rd March, 2011, with the Stockholm and Helsinki offices of the Firm winning these prestigious awards for Sweden and Finland, respectively. IFLR's annual awards are based on broad research by its staff including extensive interviews with clients and practicing lawyers, with particular attention given to legal innovation in cross-border transactions. White & Case executive partner in Stockholm, Ulf Johansson said, "We are delighted to receive these awards for 2011 and to be recognized for being at the forefront of the transaction-driven legal practice in the Nordic region. Although White & Case is a global law firm and the vast majority of our work is cross-border in nature, we also emphasize our local presence: our ability to support our local clients in their transactions is very important to us. In both Stockholm and Helsinki, we have market leading M&A, Capital Markets and Bank Finance practices and I believe that this award is in recognition of our strengths in all of these areas." Some of White & Case's work by its Stockholm and Helsinki offices in 2010 that led to receipt of their awards includes: Stockholm: Advising Nordea on financing of SEK 2 billion private equity purchase and related target refinancing of AcadeMedia's existing financial indebtedness. The refinancing was financed pursuant to a second set of deal documents, which was necessitated by the structure of the acquisition; Stockholm: Advising Stadshypotek AB (publ) on its US$15 billion US Medium Term Covered Bond Program and follow-on issuance of US$1 billion of 1.45% Covered Bonds due 2013 and US$600 million of floating rate Covered Bonds due 2013. These were the first ever issuances of covered bonds in the United States by a Nordic issuer. Stockholm: Advising Nordic Capital company Cidron Intressenter AB in its successful public tender offer for all shares in Munters AB (publ) with a total offer value of SEK 5,693 million (EUR 615 million). The offer was made in competition with a public offer made by Alfa Laval AB (publ) and was the largest public take-over in Sweden since the beginning of the financial crisis in early 2008. The transaction was granted the Deal of Year award by Swedish business magazine Veckans Affärer. Helsinki: Advising UPM-Kymmene Corporation on its proposed acquisition of Myllykoski Group and Rhein Papier with an enterprise value of approximately €900 million and the related acquisition financing as well as the financial restructuring of both the Myllykoski Group and Rhein Papier; Helsinki: Representing Talvivaara Mining Company Plc, a Finnish mining company listed on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, on its €225 million initially cash-settling convertible bond offering, the first of its kind by a Finnish publicly traded company. About White & Case Stockholm The White & Case Stockholm office offers clients substantial experience in complex issues of Swedish law and regulation and the resources of a leading global law firm. The 45 lawyers in our Stockholm office, which was established in 1983, practice all aspects of Swedish law and represent clients in arbitrations and in Swedish courts. Key practice areas include mergers and acquisitions, banking, securities and capital markets and dispute resolution. About White & Case Helsinki The White & Case Helsinki office was opened in 1992. Today, it has almost 30 lawyers advising Finnish and international clients on a broad range of M&A, Capital Markets, and Bank Finance transactions. In addition to these core practice areas, the Helsinki office also advises clients on Financial Restructuring and Insolvency, Real Estate and Competition/EU law. About White & Case White & Case LLP is a leading global law firm with lawyers in 37 offices in 25 countries. Among the first US-based law firms to establish a truly global presence, we provide counsel and representation in virtually every area of law that affects cross-border business. Our clients value both the breadth of our global network and the depth of our US, English and local law capabilities in each of our regions and rely on us for their complex cross-border transactions, as well as their representation in arbitration and litigation proceedings. Contact: Jane Jardine Media Relations Executive +44 (0) 207 532 2844