Richard Ho

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advises its long-standing client Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc (‘Aston Martin’), a FTSE 250 listed British luxury car manufacturer, on its placing of new ordinary shares, as well as concurrent offer made to retail investors and a subscription by certain members of the board of directors. The transaction, which raised proceeds of £216 million, included investments by the Yew Tree Consortium (led by Lawrence Stroll, Executive Chairman of Aston Martin), The Public Investment Fund (the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia), Geely International (Hong Kong) Limited and Mercedes Benz AG. The proceeds from the transaction will allow Aston Martin to further deleverage its balance sheet and support capital investments related to the Company’s electrification strategy. The Freshfields team, led by partner Chris Mort and senior associate Egor Marisin, includes counsel Richard Ho and associates Toby Halford and Maya Haria.

Aug 7

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised National Bank of Greece S.A. (NBG) on the fully marketed offering (FMO) by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) of a 22% stake (out of its total 40.39% stake) in NBG, raising gross proceeds of approximately €1.1 billion. The offering consisted of a public offering to retail and institutional investors in Greece and private placements to institutional investors outside of Greece, including the United States. The transaction is the largest European privatisation FMO since 2005, the largest Greek equity capital markets transaction since 2021 and the largest secondary placement in Greece since 2005. Founded in 1841, NBG has been a key player in the Greek economy for over 180 years and its shares have been listed on the ATHEX since 1880. It is one of the four systemic banks in Greece, with a market capitalisation of approximately €5.57 billion as of 20 November 2023. The Freshfields team was led by partners Christopher Mort and Doug Smith, counsel Richard Ho and senior associate Mazen Talih.

Nov 22

1 min

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) advises Smurfit Kappa Group plc (Smurfit Kappa), a FTSE 100 company, on its merger with WestRock, an S&P 500 company, to create Smurfit WestRock. Smurfit WestRock’s ordinary shares will be dual listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and on the standard segment of the Official List of the FCA and admitted to trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Smurfit Kappa, headquartered in Ireland, is one of the leading providers of paper-based packaging solutions in the world, with more than 47,000 employees in over 350 production sites across 36 countries and with revenue of €12.8 billion in 2022. WestRock, headquartered in the US, partners with customers to provide differentiated, sustainable paper and packaging solutions and support customers around the world from locations spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Together, Smurfit Kappa and WestRock generated combined last twelve months adjusted annual revenue of approximately $34 billion as of 30 June 2023, which would make Smurfit WestRock the largest listed global packaging partner by revenue. Completion is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2024, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, as well as other related closing conditions. The Freshfields team was led by partners Piers Prichard Jones and Nick Jones, supported by counsel Richard Ho and Ethan Magid, senior associate Toby Holborow and associate Nii Sekan. Antitrust advice was provided by partner Rafique Bachour, principal associate Marta Janek, and legal consultant Rita Leitão

Sep 12

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) is advising BAE Systems on Air Astana’s US$847 million initial public offering (IPO) of shares and global depositary receipts representing shares (GDRs) and their admissions to listing and trading on the London Stock Exchange, Astana International Exchange and Kazakhstan Stock Exchange. The IPO involved a global offer of GDRs to institutional investors and a domestic offer of shares and GDRs to retail and institutional investors in Kazakhstan, which included an issue of new shares by Air Astana, the sale of GDRs by BAE Systems and the sale of existing shares by Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna. BAE Systems also provided a stock lending facility and over-allotment option (corresponding to an additional 15% of GDRs sold in the global offering) to Citigroup to conduct stabilisation transactions in accordance with applicable regulations. The IPO is part of a programme of economic reform designed to establish a free market economy through privatisation of government-owned enterprises in Kazakhstan. The IPO will provide free float and liquidity for Air Astana’s shares and GDRs, diversify Air Astana’s shareholder base with global institutional investors, provide proceeds to support Air Astana’s growth strategy, and allow Air Astana to gain access to the international capital markets. This was the first IPO and listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in 2024. The Freshfields team was led by counsel Richard Ho and partner Piers Prichard Jones and included teams advising on corporate, tax and regulatory issues.

Feb 9

1 min

Freshfields advised Esken Limited (‘Esken’), the London listed aviation and energy infrastructure group formerly known as Stobart Group Limited, on its £200m refinancing transactions which consisted of: an investment by Carlyle Global Infrastructure Opportunity Fund into London Southend Airport (‘LSA’). The investment was structured as a £125m senior loan facility, convertible into 29.9 per cent of the entire issued share capital of LSA. The transaction constituted a class 1 transaction for the purposes of the UK’s Listing Rules and required shareholders’ approval; a £55m equity capital raise by way of a fully underwritten firm placing and placing and open offer (‘Capital Raise’). The Capital Raise represented approximately 62 per cent of Esken’s existing issued share capital and involved a firm placing commitment with a significant shareholder, which constituted a related party transaction for the purposes of the UK’s Listing Rules requiring the approval of independent shareholders; and entry into an amendment and restatement agreement in respect of Esken’s existing bank facility agreement pursuant to which a £20m new revolving credit facility was made available to Esken by its existing lenders. The refinancing transactions will enable Esken to repay all outstanding bank debt, meet its transaction costs and ongoing working capital requirements, meet certain of its legacy obligations and underpin its business plan going forward. The Freshfields team was led by partners Marcus Mackenzie, Ken Baird, Richard Johnson and Rhys Evans, counsel Richard Ho, senior associate Ethan Magid and associates Nikita Kumar, Wesley Tan and Katie Bentel.

Sep 2

1 min