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McDermott, Will & Emery has increased its London tax team by a third with the announcement that Justin Hamer, from the Inland Revenue Solicitor's Office and Howard Murray, an associate with Herbert Smith, will be joining the firm in August and September respectively.

The boards of UK supermarket chains Iceland Group and Booker have agreed the terms of a merger. Existing Iceland shareholders will own 61.1% of the enlarged group and existing Booker shareholders will own 38.9%.

Ashurst Morris Crisp is advising the purchaser and its equity financiers on the euro300 million-plus ($284.7 million) acquisition of the companies comprising the Armstrong Insulation Products division of the Armstrong World Industries Group. Armstrong Insulation Products manufactures and sells technical insulation products worldwide. It runs production facilities in nine jurisdictions, and has operations or makes sales in more than 20 countries. The purchaser is a new company, incorporated in Germany, backed by private equity houses Gilde Investment Management and CVC Capital Partners Limited.

Under article 115 quinquies of the French Tax Code, the profits of a French branch of a foreign company are deemed to be distributed to non-residents, and are therefore liable to a 25% withholding tax, known as the branch tax. However, the branch may make a claim for a refund of the branch tax computed on the French branch's profits exceeding the actual amount of dividends distributed by the foreign entity to non-French residents.

Australia's capital gains tax law once suffered from the accusation of protecting inefficient companies. Following the Ralph Committee recommendations, scrip-for-scrip rollover relief has been introduced to counter this. By Ian Dinnison of KPMG, Melbourne

Dr Jörg Siegels has left Gleiss Lutz Hootz Hirsch and joined Lovells' Frankfurt office as a tax partner, increasing the firm's German tax capability.

Granada Media has published a pathfinder prospectus for a global offering of shares to raise approximately £1.2 billion ($1.8 billion) to £1.5 billion of new capital, net of expenses.

The lease rental securitization for London's Canary Wharf closed on June 6. Allen & Overy acted for Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, the arranger and joint lead manager, and Clifford Chance acted for Canary Wharf in structuring and documenting the £975 million ($1.47 billion) deal.

The internet is opening up a new world of opportunities for international tax planning and putting a premium on specialist advice

Hamburg's comdirect bank AG, the online banking subsidiary of Commerzbank AG, is to issue an initial public offering of euro790 million ($753 million) in bearer shares. Comdirect is the largest online broker in Europe. The shares were listed on the Neuer Markt segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.