Farhana Sharmeen

Farhana’s recent experience includes advising:

Mergers & Acquisitions

• ESR on the:
  • S$541 million sale of its entire 10.8% stake in Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust to Hongkong Land Holdings Limited
  • S$190 million sale of ESR Trust Management (Suntec) Limited, the manager of the Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust, to Acrophyte Asset Management Pte. Ltd.
• Ares Management Corporation on the US$3.7 billion acquisition of GCP International, the international business (excluding operations in Greater China) of GLP Capital Partners, an alternative asset manager
• Warburg Pincus on the joint venture with Lendlease’s life science business in Asia to launch a specialist real estate platform capitalizing on the growing life sciences sector in Asia Pacific
• Séché Environnement, a renowned French waste management company, on its:
  • S$311 million co-investment by CVC DIF, the infrastructure arm of leading global private markets manager CVC, in ECO Industrial Environmental Engineering
  • S$605 million acquisition of ECO Industrial Environmental Engineering from Beijing Capital
• TPG on the:
  • Sale of all its shares in Singapore Life Holdings Pte Ltd (Singlife) to one of Singlife’s substantial shareholders, Sumitomo Life Insurance Company
  • S$3.2 billion acquisition, as part of a consortium of investors, comprising TPG, Singapore Life (SingLife), Sumitomo Life Insurance Company, and others, of a majority stake in Aviva Singapore, a Singapore-based insurance company, and subsequent merger of SingLife and Aviva Singapore. The deal is one of the largest in the insurance sector in Southeast Asia and the largest in Singapore. Latham advised the TPG and Singlife consortium on the acquisition and subsequent merger
• HARPS Global Pte. Ltd., a Southeast Asian medical glove producer, on the acquisition of Semperit AG Holding’s medical business, Sempermed
• Golden Energy and Resources Limited (GEAR), an international resources company, on their concurrent business segregation and privatization of its existing energy coal business, conducted through its Indonesian listed subsidiary PT Golden Energy Mines Tbk, from its metallurgical coal and other businesses
• Ascential PLC, the specialist information, analytics and eCommerce optimization company, on its acquisition of Intrepid E-Commerce Services, an e-commerce services platform with operations in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Hong Kong
• Rivulis, a portfolio company of Temasek, on the acquisition of the international irrigation business of Jain Irrigation Systems, an India-based micro irrigation systems company
• Fullerton Healthcare Corporation Limited on its merger to create Fullerton Health; the transaction involved an equity injection by RRJ Capital and a senior loan totaling S$390 million
• Silver Lake in its:
  • US$1.02 billion investment in Reliance Retail Ventures, an India-based retail business operator
  • US$1.35 billion acquisition of a minority stake in Jio Platforms, an India-based mobile network operator
  • Acquisition of TEG, an Australia-based live entertainment and ticketing company
  • Acquisition of the Michael Cassel Group, an Australia-based live entertainment company
• 8x8 on the acquisition of Wavecell, a Singapore-based Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) provider
• ARA Asset Management, a Singapore-based real estate fund management firm, on the sale to ESR Cayman

Investment Funds

• Light VC as an LP in various investments into funds
• LaSalle Investment Management, one of the world’s leading real estate investment managers with US$82 billion in AUM globally (as of Q1 2022), in connection with its US$2.2 billion equity fundraising for LaSalle Asia Opportunity VI (LAO VI), including sidecars and co-investment programmes, exceeding its initial target of US$1.5 billion
• Pioneer Generation on investment into Infrastructure Fund
• Structuring and establishment of a private equity fund as a Singapore limited liability partnership
• Structuring and establishment of an investment fund as a limited liability partnership for developing data centres in India
• Silver Lake on its co-investment structures
• Crest Capital on its fund structures and LP investments*
• Redwood Fund (now part of ESR) on the establishment and structuring*
• Advised on various Unit trust structures*

Emerging Companies

• Temasek on its:
  • Series A Financing into Engine Biosciences, a Singapore biotechnology startup
  • Series B1 investment into Forge Global, Inc., a leading provider of mission-critical technology, data and services for the private market
• Silicon Box Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based semiconductor business, on its US$156.6 million Series A financing
• Citi Ventures on the seed investment in Tokuten, a Singapore-based fintech startup which provides digital asset management products and solutions
• Mogli Labs Private Limited on its Series F financing
• Wasted Collective, an eco-conscious retailer based in Singapore, on its US$12 million Series A investment
• WeMedia Shopping Network Technology Co., Limited on its minority investment of US$25 million in Rewind Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-headquartered one-stop omni channel solution provider with main operations in Thailand
• Tiki Global Pte. Ltd., a Vietnamese e-commerce company on its Series E financing from key investors including UBS AG, London Branch and AIA Company Limited
• Novo Ventures on its US$125 million Series C financing into Hummingbird Bioscience Holdings, an innovative clinical-stage biotech company
• ST Telemedia on its Series E funding round in Datameer, Inc., a provider of data management software for analytics

Capital Markets

• The joint lead managers and underwriters on the US$600 million issuance of three classes of private equity bonds by Astrea V Pte. Ltd.
• The joint lead managers and underwriters in the issuance of three classes of bonds by Astrea VI Pte. Ltd., which are backed by cash flows from a portfolio of private equity funds
• Maxeon Solar Technologies Pte. Ltd. on its US$200 million 6.5% Green Convertible Senior Notes due 2025
• BofA Securities, Inc. in its US$60 million Ordinary Shares listed on NASDAQ
• DBS in its 3.85% p.a. Class A-1 Secured Bonds
• Credit Suisse in its US$228 million Class A-2 Secured Fixed Rate Bonds due 2031; and US$130 million Class B Secured Fixed Rate Bonds due 2031
• BofA Securities, Inc. in its 6.5% Green Convertible Senior Notes due 2025
• Infraestructura Energética Nova, the largest private-sector energy company in Mexico by market capitalization, in its global offering of US$800 million in 4.750% senior notes due 2051
• A confidential issuer in the offer of US$425 million 8.5% notes due 2020*
• A confidential issuer on various multi-currency cross-border bond offerings and consent solicitation exercises*

Regulatory

• AllianceBernstein on the regulatory aspects of the joint venture between its Sanford C Bernstein broker/dealer business and Societe Generale
• Tiki Corporation, a Vietnamese e-commerce company, in its internal restructuring to establish a new Singapore holding company (Tiki Global Pte. Ltd.) and exchange the shares held by its existing shareholders in Tiki Corporation for shares in Tiki Global Pte. Ltd.
• Affinity Equity Partners (Affinity), one of the largest dedicated Asian private equity firms, on the approval requirements of the Monetary Authority of Singapore in its S$200 million (approximately US$148 million) investment into Singaporean fintech company M-DAQ Pte Ltd (M-DAQ)
• Straits Trading on its listing manual obligations in connection with the sale of its shares in ARA Asset Management
• Temasek on the regulatory aspects of its US$500 million strategic partnership with, and minority stake in leading global impact investment group LeapFrog Investments
• Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, in relation its global listing process, including providing forms and agreements, as well as general regulatory advice
• Various institutions and corporates on the payments services regime in Singapore
• Various corporates on the offering of digital tokens in Singapore
• Various financial institutions on licensing requirements under the Securities and Futures Act, including licensing requirements in respect of OTC derivative transactions*
• Financial institutions on setting up new lines of business or restructuring of their existing business*

Finance

• The committee of lenders in relation to the c. £450 million debt restructuring of Travelex, a global payment systems business
• Survitec Group, the UK-headquartered and global safety and survival equipment business, in relation to its corporate, financing and strategic matters and its £450 million debt and equity restructuring
• A secured lender in the debt restructuring of Travelex, a company that provides foreign exchange services. Latham advised on the Singapore law aspects of the debt restructuring
• The committee of bondholders of New Look, a UK-headquartered apparel retailer, in the £1.35 billion restructuring, including a £150 million new bond issuance and a debt-for-equity swap and a linked bridge financing to the restructuring closing, in the amount of £80 million

*Matter handled prior to joining Latham