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US firms act on Egyptian bond first The London offices of White & Case and Dewey Ballantine have advised on Egypt's first international bond issue.

Troubled German microchip-maker Infineon last month called in technology-focused Brobeck Hale & Dorr and Clifford Chance for a $1.4 billion secondary share offering in difficult market conditions. Infineon made the share offering in Germany and the US and through private placements to international institutional investors elsewhere on July 3. The 60 million share secondary offering in the US and Germany was priced at euro 25 ($21) a share.

"It's ludicrous that Europe can agree a single currency but cannot agree a common takeover law"

BBLP, Europe's continental alliance of European law firms, was in danger of breaking up last month after a further four partners resigned from the group's German member firm Beiten Burkhart Mittel & Wegener (BBMW). Coming barely a month after the defection of all but one of the firm's Frankfurt-based partners, the resignations have forced BBMW to accelerate its search for a UK partner and plug the gap in the alliance's European coverage. Mergers and acquisitions partner Christian von Sydow has been moved from the firm's Munich office to Frankfurt. BBMW is reported to be in merger negotiations with the UK firm Simmons & Simmons, but both Simmons and BBMW have so far refused to comment. However, Martin Aman, managing partner of BBLP's Swiss member firm Meyer Lustenberger, said in July that his firm had been informed of merger talks between the German and UK firms, although he refused to comment further.

Herbert Smith advised lead manager Royal Bank of Scotland and trustee Citicorp on the £251 million ($351 million) mixed asset securitization for UK retail lender and insurer Paragon. The securitization involved combing loan and second mortgage principal and income payments into a single issue. Finance partner Jane Borrows led the Herbert Smith team, which also included derivatives specialist Dina Abagli, tax specialist Bradley Phillips and property partner James Barnes. Slaughter and May partner Chris Smith advised Paragon with Scottish firm Tods Murray and Northern Ireland firm L'Estrange & Brett advising on Scottish and Northern Irish law respectively.

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co has negotiated the biggest deal in Indian corporate history. The firm's client was a mobile phone company owned by the two Indian business houses, Birla and Tata, and US telecoms company AT&T. The deal got underway when Birla-AT&T Tata company accepted a merger proposal from BPL, a mobile phone company controlled by Rajeev Chandrashekar, an Indian tycoon. That was in September 2000. Amarchand negotiated the deal directly with BPL and nine months later the three business houses, and AT&T, agreed to a merger valued at $2.1 billion.

On April 10 2001 the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published a consultation paper reviewing the Codes on Takeovers and Mergers and Share Repurchases relating to public companies.

On July 16 2001 the Argentine Commercial Court No. 15 ruled on the opening of preventive proceedings (concurso preventivo) to restructure over $900 million in debt of the flag-carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas and the appointment of receivers following a voluntary petition filed by the company to avoid a declaration of bankruptcy. Aerolíneas Argentinas is owned by the Spanish state holding company SEPI, which has been negotiating with the Argentine government over the airline's future.

Following a series of crises in the country’s banking sector, and various attempts at reform, the Turkish government has at last made significant amendments to its banking law. Mehmet Irmak Canevi and Halide Çetinkaya of Derman Ortak Avukat Bürosu, Istanbul, examine the changes and ask if the government has finally got things right?

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Allen & Overy last month secured the services of a combined six new partners from US competitors. The new arrivals will boost the UK firms' New York offices and are another warning to US firms that the magic circle mean business. Allen & Overy has launched a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) practice in New York after raiding US rivals to hire four partners and a senior associate.