Kirkland & Ellis and Baker McKenzie have secured key roles as Turkish freight shipping operator UN Ro-Ro launched its sale to Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS in a deal worth roughly €950m.
The Kirkland team, spearheaded by London corporate partner David Arnold, advised Actera Group and Esas Holdings, while the Bakers team was led by Charles Whitefoord (London) and Eren Kurşun (Istanbul).
The mandate allows Kirkland to continue its longstanding relationship with Actera, which it has advised across four major deals, including the acquisitions of Mars Entertainment Group, Turkey’s biggest cinema chain, to an investment group led by South Korean cinema chain operator CJ CGV in 2016. Actera and Esas acquired DFDS in 2014.
Upon completion, the deal will see DFDS acquire 98.8% of the shares of UN Ro-Ro, as the Danish company looks to expand its operations from northern Europe into the Mediterranean – UN Ro-Ro operates five freight shipping routes between Turkey, Italy and France.
The deal comes amid a startling run for Legal Business US Law Firm of the Year Kirkland, which became the world’s top-billing law firm as well as landing key insolvency roles earlier this year during the collapse of Toys R Us. For Bakers, the deal continues an active 2018, as in March the firm acted on a €2.1bn mandate with Chinese internet giant Tencent as Vivendi disposed of its entire 27.3% stake in game publisher Ubisoft Entertainment.
The transaction is expected to close in June 2018, pending approval by the Turkish, Austrian and German competition authorities. Said Whitefoord: ‘This deal was strategically very important to our client DFDS, enabling it to expand its route network into the Mediterranean to include the fast-growing transport market between Turkey and the EU. Working closely with our Turkish colleagues, we agreed the transaction in a compressed timeframe and against the backdrop of a proposed IPO.’