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On March 1 1998, the amendments to the 1989 EU Merger Regulation entered into force. For the details of the new regime see International Financial Law Review, June 1997, page 53.

Melia Inversiones Americanas (MIA), a Dutch company owning hotels in Latin America and the Caribbean, has been floated in a US$163.8 million international offering. The shares were offered to Spanish retail and institutional investors and to US institutions though a private placement. US firm Brown & Wood advised on New York and English law with Spanish law advice from Cuatrecasas. The shares, placed in the US through Rule 144A American Depositary Shares, were the first non-Spanish stock to be listed on the stock exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Bilbao. A depositary system has been implemented to allow the bearer shares of MIA to be represented by electronic book entries in Spain (anotaciones en cuenta). The system is designed to satisfy both Spanish law relating to registered securities and the requirements of Dutch law on the transfer of bearer shares. Stibbe, Simont, Monahan, Duhot advised on Dutch aspects.

The OECD convention against corruption is a major step against bribery. But a totally fair market is still far off. By Michael Hershman of Decision Strategies/Fairfax International LLC, Falls Church, Virginia

Diageo, the world's largest drinks business, is selling drinks brands Bombay gin and Dewar's scotch whisky to Bacardi, at a price thought to be over £1.1 billion (US $1.8 billion). The sale was required by US regulators in order to allow the proposed merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan to go ahead. Goldman Sachs entered into a US$2.6 billion multicurrency agreement with Bacardi, consisting of three series of term loans to finance the acquisitions and one series of term loans to refinance the company's existing debt. Frank Aquila and Neil Anderson, M&A partners at Sullivan & Cromwell's New York office, are advising Diageo.

The Government of Abu Dhabi is restructuring and privatizing its water and electricity industries. The work of the Privatization Committee includes the establishment of a regulatory framework, the creation of a new body, (Regulation and Supervision Bureau for the Water and Electricity Sector), the drafting of regulatory licences and the unbundling of the existing vertically integrated government department into separate companies. Denton Hall is advising the Privatization Committee on all issues. Leading the London-based team is energy partner Christopher McGee-Osborne. Energy partner Richard Metcalf is also working on the project.

New York firm Reid & Priest and San Francisco form Thelen Marrin Johnson Bridges confirmed market speculation by announcing, on April 6, they are to merge (see IFLRev, April 1998, page 3). It is the largest merger between east and west coast firms, combining over 350 lawyers. The new firm will be known as Thelen Reid & Priest when the merger is formalized on June 30. Richard Gary, Thelen Marrin's chairman, will become chairman of the new firm and Thomas Igoe, chairman of Reid & Priest, becomes vice-president.

The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) is allowing for listing, trading and settlement of Eurobonds for the first time. In a further move to promote itself as a leading Asian regional exchange, it is in discussions with Nasdaq, the US exchange, to facilitate dual listings. The decision to trade debt on Australia's exchange through Chess, ASX's settlement system, was taken because of the popularity of Eurobonds in London and Luxembourg. Eurobonds can be traded by creating Cufs (Chess Units of Foreign Securities) – financial instruments similar to American Depository Receipts. The first company to take advantage of the rule change is Bell Atlantic, which launched a US$2.5 billion Euronote issue on February 27 1998. The Euronotes are quoted as notes and are traded and settled as Cufs.

• US firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has poached a five-lawyer fund management team from US rival Baker & McKenzie. The team is led by partners Steven Howard and Scott MacLeod.

Creditors have several options under the Malaysian Companies Act 1965: the company can be wound up, put into receivership or have its assets possessed. By Philip Teoh Oon Teong of David Chong & Co, Kuala Lumpur

A wide-ranging reform and codification of Italian capital markets law tidies up some outstanding problems. It also introduces detailed rules on corporate governance. By Susanna Beltramo and Stefano Agnoli of Studio Legale Beltramo, Rome