Finance Monthly Deal Maker Awards 2019 Edition

www.finance-monthly.com 15 FINANCE MONTHLY DEAL MAKER AWARDS 2019 MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS www.skadden.com ABOUT ARMAND W. GRUMBERG Armand is the head of Skadden’s European M&A practice and the leader of the firm’s Paris office. He has extensive experience and is highly regarded for his abilities in strategic and complex cross-border transactions, including public and private acquisitions, contested and hostile bids, joint ventures, corporate reorganisations and capital markets transactions.Healsohassubstantialexperience in shareholder activist-related matters. French magazine Décideurs named Armand Grumberg as one of the top 50 business lawyers across all practice areas in France and also ranked him in the “Rainmaker” category. TRANSACTION REPORTS Skadden advised Westfield Corporation on the 2018 combination with - through a $24.7 billion acquisition - the French listed company Unibail-Rodamco, Europe’s largest listed commercial property company, to create the world’s premier owner of flagship shopping destinations. It involved the first ever stapled share structure in France involving the shares of an existing French-listed company. Skadden advised Stryker Corporation, one of the world’s leading medical technology companies, in connection with its acquisition of Vexim, a French company specialized in the development and sale of vertebral compression fracture solutions and listed on the Euronext Growth market. The transaction was implemented through the acquisition by Stryker Corporation of a controlling stake in Vexim from the main shareholders, followed by a simplified cash public offer and a squeeze- out. ARMAND W. GRUMBERG Head of European M&A Practice at Skadden FIRM PROFILE Skadden’s Paris office offers a wealth of experience in high-profile corporate matters, mergers and acquisitions, dispute resolution, regulatory, tax and employment law. French and U.S. qualified attorneys advise French, European and multinational companies, financial institutions and investment funds on a range of legal matters, notably on highly complex cross-border transactions. The Paris office serves as one of Skadden’s major hubs for pan-European work, and our attorneys are experienced in working with the various cultural differences that frequently arise in transactions involving multiple jurisdictions. Skadden regularly advises on the most high profile transactions and establish state-of-the-art innovative structures for the most complex and unprecedented work with broader impact on the wider economy. We operate as an integrated practice without office or jurisdictional boundaries, fully leveraging the depth of Skadden’s international network. Our focus on fewer deals but those which are higher value and complex is reflected in our Paris office, which is recognized as a go- to firm for cross-border deals involving high levels of complexity or hostile/contested elements. Our Paris attorneys are well known as being a central part of major legal innovations, among them are: • Several “firsts” in the €15.2 billion Nokia/Alcatel Lucent combination (including (i) the fastest post-offer acquisitions at a higher price than the offer, (ii) the fastest squeeze-out following a public exchange offer in which the 95% threshold was not obtained (Nokia announced its public buy-out offer and squeeze-out on the Alcatel-Lucent securities only 4 months after its public exchange offer and filed the proposed offer with the AMF after 7 months) and (iii) the first decision ever of the French financial market authority granting the bidder the possibility to implement a squeeze-out notwithstanding an action for annulment of its clearance decision (this decision is a key policy change)); • Incorporating the first ever French European company (Societas Europaea) listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris S.A.; • Incorporating the first ever Societas Europaea created within the European Union as a result of a tripartite merger, involving three separate jurisdictions (France, Germany and Italy); and • Creating France’s first trust structure (or fiducie), in order to guarantee against specific long term risks (environmental, health and safety risks, etc.) in the context of the sale of a subsidiary by a French group (as an alternative to the traditional escrow mechanism). This type of work is typical of Skadden – complex and unprecedented work that can have broader impact on the wider economy. In addition to our work for French corporates on French law issues, we offer significant advantages where transactions present cross-border issues, especially those matters with US regulatory implications or where we are called upon to manage multiple legal and regulatory regimes. Our French attorneys have unmatched experience managing major projects involving multiple advisors in different countries. Awarded for his involvement in the following transactions: Unibail-Rodamco SE’s $24 Billion Acquisition of Westfield Stryker Corporation acquires VEXIM