DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary has negotiated through English, Korean, Philippine and French cross-border legal issues to close a deal for Korea Development Bank (KDB), which issued a US$131m refund guarantee for the Philippines subsidiary of a leading Korean shipbuilder.

The transaction involved the issuance of a refund guarantee in regard to payments received by HHIC-PHIL, the subsidiary of Korean company Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction, for building container vessels scheduled for delivery in 2008 and 2009.

Hong Kong-based partner JC Lee captained the DLA team on the deal.

The firm also recently advised marketing and advertising group Publicis on its acquisition of a majority stake in Shanghai's Betterway Marketing Solutions.

Fresh from two recent L'Oreal acquisitions in China, DLA Beijing partner Janet Jie Tang led the Publicis transaction, seen as an indicator of a growing trend for marketers to move beyond traditional media to below-the-line advertising activities in China.