De Brauw has advised China Investment Corporation (CIC), China's sovereign wealth fund, on the EUR 2.3 billion acquisition of a 30% stake in GDF Suez's global exploration and production division, GDF Suez E&P.

GDF Suez E&P has a substantial number of subsidiaries in the Netherlands, which own the group's Dutch assets (including resources in the North Sea) and all form part of the transaction. Additionally, the group's international operations are largely structured through Dutch holding structures.

GDF Suez is the largest buyer of natural gas and importer of liquefied natural gas in Europe, while CIC is an investment arm established in 2007 as a wholly state-owned Chinese company that makes long-term global investments.

Team: Ernest Meyer Swantee, Betta Aarts, Ferdinand Hengst, Erik Pijnacker Hordijk, Mauricette Schaufeli, Pim Jansen, Tilly Smits, Johan van der Hoek, Bernadina Zuideveld, Sandra Voorn, Esther Albers