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‘A lion’s share’: KWM scores $23bn for ECM clients
Global law firm King & Wood Mallesons is maximising efforts on the equity capital markets (ECM) space after helping its clients raise over $23 billion in the 2020 calendar year.
Emma Musgrave
The firm’s ECM team has finalised its figures from the past 12 months, revealing it helped raise over $23 billion for clients, which it said, represents “a lion’s share” of the equity capital raised on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) over the year.
Comments shared to Lawyers Weekly on the success of the ECM team reflect the firm’s strong focus on the sector going forward.
“KWM has appreciated the opportunity to work with so many of its clients on capital raisings during these extraordinary times,” M&A managing partner Evie Bruce said.
“In particular, KWM was delighted to be engaged by clients on large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap capital raisings during 2020.”
Special counsel Amanda Isouard noted that: “The temporary capital raising reforms helped facilitate a flood of transactions in the Australian market during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although these reforms have expired, they re-ignited the pipeline of ECM deals – which are looking strong for 2021.”
Properly positioned
With such challenging circumstances, several partners shed light on how the team managed to cope under higher-than-normal pressure to deliver desirable results to clients.
“KWM acted on a significant number of capital raisings during the financial crisis a decade earlier and was able to draw on that experience when working on transactions during COVID-19,” partner David Friedlander explained.
Partner Henrik Moritz noted by utilising technology, staff across the firm’s different office locations were able to work seamlessly through the transactions.
“This was best demonstrated during some of the most urgent COVID-19-related capital raisings where our teams were working from home across the country,” partner Jason Watts added.
In conclusion, partner Joseph Muraca said the firm’s ability to act on a large number of capital raisings during the COVID-19 pandemic “reflects the deep bench strength of our ECM team across Australia and our position as a ‘go to’ adviser in challenging times”.
Next week, Lawyers Weekly is hosting the first of three masterclasses in conjunction with global law firm Baker McKenzie to help practitioners navigate the challenging and evolving landscape of capital markets.
To learn more about any and all of these three masterclasses, click here.
Emma Musgrave
Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.
Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences.
Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University.
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