HWL Ebsworth was the Western Australian market leader in 2020 for equity capital market deals, topping the league table rankings for both volume and value of transactions as reported by Business News in their recent Corporate Finance feature report.
HWL Ebsworth’s Perth corporate team advised on 80 Western Australian deals valued at $1.2 billion, including 9 IPOs.
This result follows a strong performance of advising multiple clients on high value capital raisings including Bellevue Gold’s $135 million placement and share purchase plan; Salt Lake Potash’s $155.5 million placements, accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer and share purchase plan; and Chalice Gold Mines’ $115 million placement and share purchase plan.
HWL Ebsworth also placed in the top spot for advising on the highest volume of M&A deals in WA, with 22 deals announced in 2020. These include Dacian Gold’s $285 million agreement with NTM Gold Ltd to acquire 100% of the shares in NTM by way of scheme of arrangement and Shanghai Stock Exchange listed Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining’s acquisition of the Bibiani Gold Mine in Ghana from Resolute Mining Ltd for USD105 million.
HWL Ebsworth’s ECM Partner Shaun Hardcastle commented: “Despite the initial uncertainty in the market in 2020 due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Australian equity capital markets saw an unprecedented amount of capital raisings and IPOs (particularly in the second half of the year).
Our Perth team advised on 9 successful IPOs, representing 28% of the total Western Australian IPO market.
Our corporate team are one of the most active in Australia, and we believe 2021 will see continued growth in equity capital markets and increased levels of M&A activity.”
Subscribers to Business New can read the full report and see all rankings here.
Note to Editors:
HWL Ebsworth is the largest legal partnership in Australia according to the most recent partnership surveys published by The Australian and the Australian Financial Review and is the only commercial law firm with an office in every Australian State and Territory.
The firm comprises 1,368 staff including 257 Partners, 774 other legal staff and 337 support staff across offices in nine locations – Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Hobart, Norwest (North West Sydney), Perth and Sydney.
HWL Ebsworth is an independent, nationally integrated, full service commercial law firm, providing tailored and commercially oriented legal services.
HWL Ebsworth operates a different business model to the other leading national law practices, and this allows us to offer unrivalled value for money without compromising quality and service. Our low ratio of solicitors to partners ensures that our clients receive optimal access to partner resources for all matters.
For further information, please contact:
Russell Mailler, National Marketing Manager (03) 8644 3569 or rmailler@hwle.com.au