HSF advises MA Financial Group Limited in relation to the successful $330m IPO and ASX listing of the MA Credit Income Trust

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has advised MA Financial Group Limited (ASX:MAF) on the successful ASX listing and $330m IPO of the MA Credit Income Trust.

MA Financial Group is a global alternative asset manager specialising in private credit, real estate and hospitality, and will act as the investment manager to the newly established MA Credit Income Trust (ASX:MA1), which provides broader access to MA Financial Group’s flagship private credit strategies.

The HSF team was led by partners Rebecca Maslen-Stannage, Nicole Pedler and Fiona Smedley. They were supported by special counsel Yorick Ng, senior associates Eloise Jolly, Adam Hickey and David Tilley, and solicitors Benjamin Hansen and Daniel Hu.

HSF Chair and Senior Partner Rebecca Maslen-Stannage commented, “HSF deeply values our role as a trusted adviser and partner to MA Financial Group, and we are proud to have supported them in a key strategic milestone.”

HSF partner Nicole Pedler added, “We would like to congratulate MA Financial Group on the successful listing of the MA Credit Income Trust, which received strong support from investors and was upsized in response to market demand. The market response to the IPO shows the strength of MA Financial Group’s leadership in the private credit space, and we are pleased to have assisted MA Financial Group to expand its reach through the public markets.”

The HSF team also worked closely with Equity Trustees, as responsible entity of the MA Credit Income Trust, the joint lead managers to the offer (MA Moelis, Ord Minnett, Shaw and Partners, Cannacord and MST) and KPMG.

HSF is recognised as Australia’s leading law firm for IPOs and Equity deals by value in 2024. The MA Credit Income Trust IPO is an example of HSF’s market-leading work in Australian public offerings. Other recent examples include advising:

• HMC Capital on establishing a global digital infrastructure platform, DigiCo Infrastructure REIT, and its $1.9 billion IPO with a $2.4b market capitalisation on admission to ASX’s official list (the largest IPO by capital raise on ASX since 2018);
• Barrenjoey and Morgan Stanley as joint lead managers and underwriters of the Guzman y Gomez $335.1 million IPO with a market capitalisation of $2.2 billion; and
• Vitrafy Life Sciences on its IPO, raising $35 million for a $117.5 million listing on the ASX