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The UK Inland Revenue is giving a boost to the schemes that provide tax incentives to firms investing in small, higher-risk trading companies. A centralized service ? the Small Company Enterprise Centre ? is to be made available for companies using the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), the Venture Capital Trust (VCT) scheme, the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme and the new Corporate Venturing Scheme (CVS).

Clifford Chance is in discussions to continue its European expansion. The firm is in merger talks with Italian joint venture partner Grimaldi e Associati and is rumoured to be in discussions with Austrian firm Wolf, Theiss & Partners. Clifford Chance refused to comment.

Seat Pagine Gialle, a European publisher of telephone directories, has agreed to purchase TDL Infomedia, publisher of the Thomson Local Directories in the UK. The deal is valued at £308 million ($448.6 million) plus assumption of debt, and is due to be effected by means of a share exchange.

Allen & Overy is advising the technology and investment company BTG on a £125 million ($180 million) rights issue. BTG hopes to invest the money raised in a variety of projects to strengthen its competitive position in the intellectual property market in Europe and North America. Partner David Lewis, of Allen & Overy's London office, is advising BTG on tax matters. Credit Suisse First Boston (Europe) is underwriting most of the rights issue. Associate James Inglis at Linklaters in London is working on the deal.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges is advising Merrill Lynch as lead manager of Monument Securitisation No.1 plc.

Corine Sheldon US law firm Hogan & Hartson has hired Corine Sheldon, a tax and finance lawyer who trained in France, to join its London office. Sheldon arrives from UK firm Hammond Suddards Edge, where she spent three years. Prior to that, Sheldon spent six years in corporate finance at PricewaterhouseCoopers in France, London and the US. Sheldon left Hammond Suddards because she wanted to work in a more international firm and was particularly attracted to the idea of strengthening the corporate finance practice at Hogan & Hartson, where she will be dealing with all of the international tax structuring. "Hogan & Hartson's project to strengthen its European corporate finance practice is extremely attractive. Reinforcing the international tax capabilities will support the development of the corporate finance practice. My focus will be mainly on the telecoms industry," she said. Bernard Gilbey, a tax partner at the London office of Hammond Suddards, says of her departure: "It's always disappointing when someone goes, but she was doing a very particular type of work and felt that she could do it better elsewhere. We wish her well, but life goes on."

Linklaters & Alliance has advised Vodafone on the sale by Mannesmann BV of the whole of the issued share capital of Infostrada, Italy's largest alternative fixed line operator. The value of the transaction is Euro12.1 billion ($10.17 billion). The Linklaters team was led by Massimo Agostini in Italy and in the UK by Conor Hurley, assisted by David Blumenthal.

Slaughter and May is advising Regus in connection with its planned £1 billion ($1.45 billion) listing on NASDAQ and the London Stock Exchange. Headquartered in Middlesex, UK, Regus is a worldwide operator of business centres, with 200 locations in 40 countries.

Broadbase Software, a California-based provider of analytic and marketing automation applications, has agreed to purchase software manufacturer Servicesoft for £645 million ($934 million) in stock.

Jones Day Reavis & Pogue has acted for the parcels and logistics holding company of La Poste Group on its cooperation agreement with FedEx. La Poste and FedEx will cooperate in the international express document and parcel delivery area, and in a more limited fashion on domestic express delivery and deferred delivery. La Poste will have access to the FedEx air network, while FedEx will gain from the European ground infrastructure of the La Poste parcels and logistics holding company. Jones Day partner Pierre Ullman of the Paris office advised on tax matters. FedEx worked with Baker & McKenzie; tax advice was provided in-house.