Equity Capital Markets / IPOs
Clayton Utz continues to be one of the leading firms in Australia for Equity Capital Markets (ECM) transactions and is a go-to adviser for both issues and joint lead managers on large, complex and high-profile transactions as well as extensive work advising high-growth mid and small cap clients.
Overview
Acting for issuers, joint lead managers and selling shareholders, we have smoothly and successfully managed some of the most significant capital raisings in the Australian market. Our lawyers have acted on a number of the largest and most complex initial public offerings (IPOs), shareholder sell-downs and secondary and hybrid raisings of Australian corporates in each of the last five years.
This means you'll get lawyers whose experience, resources and project management skills ensure they can deal with changing timeframes and market-driven variables at short notice.
What we offer
Our dedicated team of ECM practitioners with market-leading credentials understand the latest developments and trends in equity fundraising techniques and security types.
We take pride in our reputation as lawyers who get in and get the work done, keeping the client's business objectives at the forefront and understanding the drivers of all participants in the process.
Our team works closely and cohesively with the managers and underwriters to offerings. Several senior team members have worked in-house with major investment banks, giving us a clear understanding of their commercial drivers and requirements.
Contributing to a smoothly run process is our strong working relationships with key regulators and industry bodies, including the Australian Securities Exchange, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Foreign Investment Review Board and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, and our comprehensive understanding of their requirements and procedures.
While our focus is on Australian equity markets, our lawyers also work with our international legal partners on offerings which extend beyond Australia and into the Asian, European and North American capital markets.
How we can support you
Experience
What we do
We advise clients on all aspects of equity capital markets including acting for issuers and arrangers on:
- initial public offerings (IPOs);
- rights issues;
- large-scale placements;
- hybrids and equity-linked transactions;
- derivative transactions;
- underwriting;
- book builds;
- management buy-outs and buy-ins;
- capital restructuring including buy-backs, capital reductions and debt-for-equity swaps;
- structured products;
- prospectuses and other disclosure documents;
- stock exchange listing requirements (for both admission and ongoing compliance).
Who we work with
We act for the full range of market participants including corporations, financiers, sponsors and governments. Specifically, this includes working with:
- major ASX-listed and unlisted companies;
- leading investment banks and other financial advisers;
- overseas clients who wish to invest in Australian-based companies;
- private equity firms; and
- our international partner firms to ensure our clients receive seamless, quality advice on major cross-border offerings.