Allens Arthur Robinson has advised on many of Australia's largest and most complex capital markets matters. Matters our team have advised on since the beginning of 2008 include:
Issuer counsel
Solimar
Advised growing oil and gas production and exploration company Solimar Energy Limited on its listing on the Canadian TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV). The firm also advised Solimar on its completed capital raising and on the reparation of its debt.
Brambles
Advised Brambles Limited on its plans to cancel its secondary listing on the
London Stock Exchange and the related share sale facility.
Rio Tinto
Advised Rio Tinto on its US$15.2 billion rights issue which was the first rights
issue implemented by a dual-listed company.
Wesfarmers
Advised Wesfarmers Limited on its A$4.6 billion accelerated entitlement offer
and placements in 2009, and on its A$2.6 billion accelerated entitlement offer
in 2008.
Amcor
Advised Amcor on its A$3.1 billion equity and debt funding package.
Hutchison Telecommunications
Advised Hutchison on its A$2.8 billion rights issue in 2007.
Westpac
Advised Westpac on its A$2.5 billion institutional placement and share purchase
plan. Also advised on its A$1 billion hybrid note and preference share tier 1
capital raising.
QBE
Advised QBE on its A$2.1 billion placement and share purchase plan, which was
implemented concurrently with its exchange offer of US$210 million and £190
million in senior notes.
Goodman Group
Acted for the international integrated property group, on its capital raising
valued at A$1.8 billion, which comprised a A$1.3 billion institutional placement
and entitlement offer, and a A$500 million convertible preferential security
investment by China Investment Corporation.
AngloGold Ashanti
Advised AngloGold Ashanti on its US$1.7 billion global renounceable rights issue
(Australian counsel).
CSL
Advised CSL on its A$1.6 billion institutional placement.
GPT Group
Advised GPT on its A$1.2 billion capital raising comprising an accelerated
entitlement offer and A$120 million institutional placement in 2009. We also
advised on its A$1.6 billion accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer in
2008, together with its A$250 million exchangeable bond offer to GIC.
Alumina
Advised Alumina on its A$1.02 billion non-renounceable rights issue in 2009, its
$A910 million accelerated entitlement offer in 2008, and its US$350 million
convertible note offering.
Goodman Group
Advised Goodman Group on its A$955 million ‘undocumented’ accelerated pro rata
entitlement offer in 2008 and its recapitalisation initiatives in 2009.
Newcrest Mining
Advised Newcrest Mining on its A$750 million institutional placement and
accompanying share purchase plan.
OneSteel
Advised OneSteel Limited on its underwritten A$559 million accelerated non-renounceable
institutional rights issue and placement, and A$319 million retail entitlement
offer.
Qantas
Advised Qantas Airways Limited on its A$500 million institutional placement.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank
Advised Bendigo and Adelaide Bank on its A$300 million accelerated entitlement
offer and institutional placement, as well as its A$175 million insitutional
placement and share purchase plan.
Tabcorp
Advised Tabcorp on its A$300 million institutional placement and A$87 million
share purchase plan. Also advised on its A$200 million retail corporate bond
issue, the first retail corporate bond issue in Australia in almost 20 years.
Billabong
Advised Billabong on its A$290 million accelerated pro rata non-renounceable
entitlement offer.
DUET Group
Advised the DUET Group on its A$264 million accelerated entitlement offer and
institutional placement.
Aristocrat Leisure
Advised Aristocrat Leisure on its A$200 million institutional placement. We also
advised on the share purchase plan and offer to the Ainsworth family
shareholders to raise a further A$75 million.
Bendigo Bank
Advised Bendigo Bank on its A$175 million share purchase plan and share
placement.
Heathscope
Advised Healthscope on its A$140 million institutional placement.
Iluka Resources
Advised Iluka Resources on its A$114 million institutional share placement.
Henderson Group
Advised Henderson Group on its A$106 million placement of CHESS Depositary
Interests.
ALE Property Group
Advised ALE on its equity raising of A$105 million via an accelerated
entitlement offer and an institutional placement.
Charter Hall
Advised Charter Hall on its A$73 million listed equity raising, comprising a
placement to the Gandel Group of A$24 million and a fully underwritten 2-for-7
accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer to raise A$49 million.
Underwriter/Lead Manager counsel
National Australia Bank
Advised UBS, Goldman Sachs JBWere and Merrill Lynch as underwriters on National
Australia Bank's A$3 billion institutional placement and A$250 million share
purchase plan in November 2008.
Advised Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs JBWere and Merrill Lynch as joint underwriters on National Australia Bank’s A$2.75 billion underwritten placement in July 2009.
ANZ
Advised UBS, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan as underwriters on ANZ's A$2.5 billion
institutional placement and A$350 million share placement.
Macquarie Group
Advised Macquarie, Credit Suisse and GSJBW as lead managers on Macquarie Group’s
A$540 million institutional placement.
Lihir Gold
Advised Goldman Sachs JBWere and Macquarie Capital Advisers as underwriters on
Lihir Gold’s A$515 million institutional placement and share purchase plan.
Sims Metal Management
Advised UBS and CommSec as underwriters on the fully underwritten institutional
placement of A$400 million for Sims Metal Management, the global leader in
metals and electronics recycling.
AMP
Advised Argonaut Securities and Macquarie Capital Advisers as lead managers on
AMP’s A$300 million subordinated note issue.
Sino Gold
Advised Goldman Sachs JBWere as underwriters on Sino Gold’s A$204 million
accelerated entitlement offer and institutional placement.
Abacus Property Group
Advised Macquarie Capital Advisers and Tricom Equities as underwriters on Abacus
Property Group’s A$187 million rights issue.
FKP Property Group
Advised Macquarie Capital Advisers and UBS as underwriters on FKP Property
Group’s A$151 million rights issue.
IBA Health
Advised ABN AMRO and UBS as underwriters on IBA Health’s A$124 million
accelerated entitlement offer.
APN
Advised RBS as underwriter on APN's A$99 million non-renouncable entitlement
offer.
Other significant matters
Other significant matters our team advised on prior to 2008 include:
IPOs – Issuers
CBA Equities
Advised sole lead manager CBA Equities in relation to the initial public offering and listing on the ASX of Bega Cheese.
Boart Longyear
Advised Macquarie on the initial acquisition of Boart Longyear and the
subsequent A$2.35 billion IPO; the largest IPO in Australia since 1997(2007).
Radio Rentals
Advised private equity firm Terra Firma on its sell down by way of IPO (2007).
Westpac
Advising Westpac on the proposed listing of BT's investment management business
(2007).
Dyno Nobel
Advised Macquarie on the initial acquisition, the on-sale to Orica of businesses
outside Australia, and the eventual A$1.1 billion IPO and ASX listing, the
largest IPO of 2006.
Galileo Japan Trust
Advised on what was only the third Japanese property trust listed on the ASX,
which raised A$284 million (2006).
James Fielding Funds Management
Advised on the IPO of units in a trust, which will invest in a portfolio of US
industrial real estate located in Chicago (2006).
Babcock & Brown Structured Finance Fund
Acted for Babcock & Brown, the sponsors of the A$300 million IPO float in
Singapore (2006).
Snowy Hydro
Advised on the proposed privatisation of Snowy Hydro by way of IPO of
government-owned hydro-electric power operator (2006).
Reckson New York Property Trust
Advised on the first Australian listed property trust with a primary strategy of
investing in office properties in the New York Tri-State area, raising A$263.4
million (2005).
Charter Hall
Advised on the stapling of Charter Hall Property Trust and management company
Charter Hall Limited and the subsequent A$200 million ASX listing (2005).
Macquarie Media Group
Acted on the A$950 million IPO ASX listing of the Macquarie Media Group (2005).
Macquarie Airports
Acted for Macquarie Bank and the entities that listed on ASX as part of the
acquisition of Sydney Airport (2003).
IPOs – Underwriters
Telstra
Advised the underwriters and the global coordinators on the highly publicised
Telstra 1, Telstra 2 and Telstra 3 share offerings. T3 was recently awarded
'Equity Market Deal of the Year' at the 2007 ALB Law Awards.
Babcock & Brown Wind Partners Group
Acted for the joint lead managers, JP Morgan and UBS on the A$396 million IPO
(2006).
Goodman Fielder
Acted for lead manager, Credit Suisse on the A$2.12 billion IPO of Goodman
Fielder (2005).
Singapore Power
Acted for the joint lead managers (UBS AG, DBS Bank Limited and Morgan Stanley)
on Singapore Power's A$1.4 billion float of its Australian electricity and gas
company (SP AusNet) (2005).
Spark Infrastructure
Acted for the underwriter Deutsche Asset Management in the A$1.8 billion float
(2005).
Tattersall's Limited
Acted for the lead managers Goldman Sachs JB Were and Macquarie Equity Capital
Markets in its A$2 billion float (2005).
Tier 1 issues
CBA
Advised CBA in a major tier 1 capital raising through the issue of trust
preferred securities in the United States. These are hybrid securities that are
convertible into ordinary or preference shares at the option of the holder.
QBE
Advised on the Perpetual Capital Securities (Perpetual Non-Call 10, tier 1)
US$550 million issue in May 2007 and ₤300 million issue in July 2006.
Rabobank
Advised Rabobank on the A$500 million tier 1 issuance into the Australian market
in 2004.
St.George Bank
Allens has advised St.George Bank on all of its tier 1 issues, including the
first non-innovative residual tier 1 capital issued on the Australian market
under the new APRA prudential standards. The A$325 million converting preference
shares, which were issued in November 2006; the A$150 million step-up preference
share 'innovative' issue in 2006; the A$350 million SAINTS issue in 2004; and
its PRYMES issue in 2001 and subsequent conversion to St.George Bank ordinary
shares in 2006.
Swiss Re
Advised on Swiss Re's A$750 million tier 1 issuance into the Australian market
in April 2007.
Westpac
Advised Westpac on its A$1.03 billion hybrid Tier 1 capital raising in June
2008.
