With Pets at Home and Poundland having only days ago made their London Stock Exchange debut, Just Eat yesterday (17 March) announced its intention to float, gifting Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and Linklaters with a high profile corporate mandate valued at between £700m to £900m.
HSF corporate partner Chris Haynes and US-qualified global head of capital markets Steve Thierbach are leading a team for 2001 Danish start-up Just Eat, which also includes associates Jessica He and Bridget Castle.
The deal comes after both Haynes and Thierbach recently advised on the £1.6bn float of Bolton success story, white goods company AO, alongside corporate partner Mike Flockart.
That listing exceeded its predicted market capitalisation of around £1bn upon listing.
Magic Circle firm Linklaters is acting for chief underwriters Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Securities, with corporate partner Iain Wagstaff and associate Niamh Liddy to advising on English law, while City-based Mike Bienenfeld and associate Megan Schellinger are providing US law advice.
In 2013, Just Eat recorded a strong financial performance within the UK, the company’s largest business, recording a 67.4% increase in revenue to £68.8m from £41.1m in 2012.
Its move to list on London’s main market is indicative of a wider uptick in UK IPO activity in recent months, with Poundland having closed with a valuation of £925m last Wednesday (13 March).
Last year also saw IPOs raise $18.7bn globally constituting a substantial increase on 2012, which raised $4.7bn according to Dealogic.
Sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk
