Magic Circle duo Linklaters and Clifford Chance have advised British lender Metro Bank on its float on the London Stock Exchange.
The challenger bank managed to raise £400m in equity capital ahead of its initial public offering (IPO) today (7 March) which values the bank at around £1.6bn – which is estimated to come in around two times its book value.
Linklaters acted for Metro Bank on the equity capital raise with a team led by capital markets partner Jason Manketo and corporate partners John Lane and Charlie Jacobs.
Clifford Chance acted as counsel to the sponsor RBC Europe and private placement advisers, with capital markets head Adrian Cartwright and US securities partner John Connolly representing.
The float comes after the bank reduced the size of its proposed IPO following a sell-off of shares in the banking sector at the beginning of this year.
The IPO marks a return to the stockmarket for banks after in January both Clifford Chance and Linklaters, alongside Allen & Overy and King & Wood Mallesons all won roles advising on Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank’s proposed IPO as its owner National Australia Bank announced a cut-price share offer ahead of the float.
Linklaters is also advising property developer Countryside Properties as it prepares to float, in a listing expected to value the housebuilder at around £1bn. Countryside, which is owned by private-equity firm Oaktree Capital Management, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) to raise £114m.
At the end of 2014, Legal Business reported that Eversheds and Hill Dickinson won spots on Metro Bank’s lending and securities panel alongside 12 other firms following the last review in 2012.
The tender process, which began in June 2014 and was finalised in early November of that year, has resulted in 14 firms being named on the new roster.
jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk
