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ING Group has purchased a leading stake in German bank BHF-Bank. The deal, which is worth DM 2.5 billion ($1.4 billion), involved a number of separate transactions through which ING increased its holding of BHF-Bank shares from 4.5% to 39%. ING is now the largest single shareholder of BHF-Bank. The transaction was completed on September 14. Final completion of the acquisition is dependent on gaining the consent of the regulatory authorities. The shares were sold by Allianz, DG Bank and Münchener Rück.

The Czech subsidiary of Slovak electrical company Slovenske elektrarne has issued Kr3 billion bonds (US$97.6 million). This is the first ever bond issue by a foreign issuer to be fully documented in and solely designed for the Czech Republic. The lead underwriter in the deal was ING Barings Capital Markets advised by US firm White & Case, Prague. Lead partner Ivan Cestr (primary issues/securities) was assisted by associates Kvetoslav Krejci and Josef Otcenasek.

• Clifford Chance has recruited three new partners. Jason Glover will be based in London, while Pablo Bieger and José Antonio Cainzos join the Madrid office. Glover is a private equity specialist and he was formerly with Asian Infrastructure Fund Advisers. Bieger, a corporate finance specialist, joins from Garrigues & Andersen. He had left Clifford Chance for Arthur Andersen in 1996. Cainzos was head of the litigation department of Baker & McKenzie and he will hold the same position at Clifford Chance.

The equities markets have seen some interesting deals despite the cold Russian winds spreading the Asian flu across the emerging markets. Nick Ferguson reports

In a second article on the Financial Services and Markets Bill, Charles Abrams of S J Berwin & Co, London discusses the proposed authorization requirements for UK and non-UK activities and the proposed restrictions on marketing investments and investment services

Simmons & Simmons, London is representing First Active, due to be listed on the London and Dublin stock exchanges in early October. First National Building Society became First Active, a public limited company, in preparation for the share issue. The price range prospectus gives First Active a potential market capitalization of between IR£387 and IR£510 million ($552-$718 million). Simmons & Simmons is representing First Active in the UK. The team is led by partner William Charnley, head of corporate finance. He is assisted by partners Alan Karter (corporate) and Nick Cronkshaw (tax).

Leading securitization specialist Robert Palache is to leave UK firm Clifford Chance to join investment bank Nomura International. Palache, the managing partner of Clifford Chance's finance practice, will give up legal practice completely in his new role as a Director and Joint Head of Securitization of Nomura's Principal Finance Group.

Spanish law firm Cuatrecasas has acquired Alicante law firm Dura and plans further mergers with firms in Glaizia, Majorca and Portugal. It is expanding its activities in an attempt to become the prominent law firm in the Iberian peninsula. Dura is a small firm specializing in commercial law and tax law and has special links with the European trade mark office in Alicante. Enric Picañol, head of international operations at Cuatrecasas in Barcelona, says: "We have clients in the major cities and now we want to go to the smaller places. We want to provide our clients with local advice but give them a full range of services."Cuatrecasas already has offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia.

Partners from Canadian law firms Fraser & Beatty and Milner Fenerty have voted in favour of a merger. As of October 1, the firms will continue business as Fraser Milner. The new firm, which will have offices in Alberta, Ontario and British Colombia, plans to offer a wider range of specialities. Both firms offer advice on all areas of business law but Milner Fenerty, which has offices in Alberta, has specific expertise in forestry, mining and oil and gas. Jeff Barnes, partner on the board at Fraser & Beatty in Toronto, says: "Milner Fenerty is very specialized and we could not grow this ourselves. The merger will give us presence in these major product markets."

UK firms Denton Hall, Richards Butler and Theodore Goddard are engaged in talks regarding a possible tripartite merger. If successful, the merger would produce the seventh largest law firm by lawyers based in the UK, and would have offices in 17 jurisdictions. Negotiations began in August and remain at an early stage of development. However, a plan for the merger may be put to partners by the end of the year. The new firm would have a significant global presence. Richards Butler has offices in Paris, Brussels, Piraeus, Warsaw, Beijing, Hong Kong, São Paulo, Oman, Islamabad, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The firm is also considering opening an office in Azerbaijan, where the new oil industry has stimulated foreign investment. Denton Hall has offices in Brussels, Moscow, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and New York. Theodore Goddard has an office in Brussels and associate offices in Paris and Jersey.