We assisted the Danish life science investor Novo Holdings in a series of funding transactions. They included a series A funding round of the UK biotech company Centauri Therapeutics Limited, a seed finance round in the Swiss biotech company Engimmune Therapeutics, a series B funding round in the Danish industrial biotech company Biosyntia ApS and a seed funding round in the Danish biopharmaceutical company Breye Therapeutics. Gorrissen Federspiel also assisted Novo Holdings and the sector-focused fund DCVC Bio II, L.P. in connection with the sale of the Danish biotech company BioPhero ApS, a leader in sustainable agricultural technology, to the Danish crop protection company Cheminova A/S, which is part of the US agricultural sciences company FMC Corporation.
We assisted Vestas Wind Systems, a provider of global sustainable energy solutions, on several important projects both in Denmark and internationally. These projects included the sale of Vestas Wind Systems’ conversion and controls business to KK Wind Solutions, a Danish supplier of electromechanical systems for wind turbines owned by A.P. Moller Holding. In addition, we advised on Vestas’ joint ventures with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) on the development and construction of several projects in Spain. The projects are notable as they are pioneering within large-scale Power-to-X and are likely to put Spain at the forefront of green hydrogen and green ammonia production technology.
We assisted the Canadian listed insurance company Intact Financial Corporation together with the Danish listed insurance company Tryg with the sale of the Danish activities of the non-life insurance company Codan (the former Danish subsidiary of the British listed RSA Insurance Group) to Danish Alm. Brand.
In the US Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings that SAS is currently undergoing, we assist Scandinavia’s largest airline as Danish advisers in connection with all aspects of the company’s restructuring plan, including a USD 700 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing credit agreement.
In connection with the sale of the Bella Tower residential building to the German property investor DWS, we assisted the seller, the Danish-based property development company Bellakvarter.
We assisted the Singapore-based shipping company Hafnia Limited with the acquisition of Chemical Tankers Inc. from Oaktree Capital Management. The transaction added an additional 32 fuel-efficient product and chemical tankers to Hafnia’s fleet. The transaction was notable as it made Hafnia the world’s largest product and chemical tanker operator with a fleet of 223 tankers.
When the Nordic banking group Nordea made a strategic decision to re-enter the Danish life insurance market, we assisted Nordea in the acquisition of TopDanmark Livsforsikring, the Danish insurance company TopDanmark Forsikring’s provider of life insurance and pension products.
In 2022, several hundred former and current Danske Bank shareholders filed a claim against the bank for USD 2.1 billion. We are assisting Danske Bank in the case, which is one of the largest securities litigation cases in Danish history. The case is notable not only because of its size and profile, but because the claims are the first of their kind in Denmark. Moreover, the case raises several new and untried legal issues in addition to the considerable procedural complexities involved in dealing with such a large number of cases.
We advised residential real estate company Heimstaden on its strategic DKK 2.5 billion acquisition of 1,473 residential units from a consortium represented by Danish property developer and investor Selmer Group. A complex transaction that was among the largest property transactions in Denmark in 2022.
We assisted Danish offshore drilling operator Maersk Drilling in the merger with US offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation. After the merger, the shareholders of the respective companies own approximately 50% each of the outstanding shares of the merged company Noble Corporation. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Copenhagen. The transaction was notable as the merger created one of the world’s largest offshore oil drilling rig companies.
We advised the Danish offshore wind turbine contractor Cadeler, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, on a number of private placements. This included raising NOK 1 billion through an accelerated book building process. The transaction was notable because it represented an important capital provision for Cadeler to support the company’s growth. The proceeds were also used to finance the company’s second new construction of F-class foundation installations and for general corporate purposes.
We assisted the Danish industrial group Schouw & Co. in connection with its agreement with the Finnish investment firm Ahlström Capital to merge the electronics manufacturer GPV International A/S owned by Schouw & Co. with the Swiss electronics manufacturer Enics AG. The transaction is the largest in Schouw & Co.’s history and is strategically important because the merger creates the second largest group of electronics manufacturers headquartered in Europe.
We assisted the Danish global bioscience company Chr. Hansen Holding in its merger with the Danish biosolutions company Novozymes. The transaction was notable because it combined two Danish C25 companies in a historic merger; the largest ever between two Danish companies.