Herbert Smith Freehills advises Seven Group Holdings on A$500 million institutional placement and A$50 million share purchase plan

Herbert Smith Freehills is delighted to have worked with Seven Group Holdings Limited (SGH) on its successful A$500 million fully underwritten institutional placement (Placement) and non-underwritten share purchase plan (SPP) to raise up to A$50 million, announced to the ASX on 19 April 2021.

SGH is a leading Australian diversified operating and investment group with market-leading businesses and investments in industrial services, oil and gas and media.

The Placement and SPP will enable SGH to reduce overall net debt and strengthen balance sheet flexibility to support portfolio growth opportunities. The capital raising will also improve liquidity by increasing SGH’s free float and facilitate continued discipline in the company’s approach to capital allocation.

Herbert Smith Freehills advised SGH on all facets of the Placement and SPP. The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by partner Rebecca Maslen-Stannage and senior associate Mia Harrison-Kelf, who were supported by solicitors Sunny Li and Ilana Gottlieb. Singapore-based partner Siddhartha Sivaramakrishnan, along with Hong-Kong-based senior associate Jin Kong and London-based consultant Elizabeth Bramon advised on US aspects of the transaction. The Herbert Smith Freehills team worked closely with the SGH team, including MD and CEO Ryan Stokes, CFO Richard Richards, and Company Secretary Warren Coatsworth.

Ms Maslen-Stannage said, “It was a pleasure to work with Seven Group Holdings on this transaction. The SGH team are always extremely practical and positive in executing complex transactions and we very much enjoy working with them to achieve their strategies”.

Mr Ryan Stokes said, “We always enjoy working with Rebecca and her capable team, their advice is valued and they work seamlessly to support SGH to successfully deliver pivotal capital markets transactions”.

Jarden Australia Pty Limited and Macquarie Capital (Australia) Limited were joint lead managers, bookrunners and underwriters of the Placement.

This deal is another example of Herbert Smith Freehills’ market-leading work in equity capital markets. Other recent examples include advising:

• Perpetual on its A$225 million placement and A$50 million share purchase plan
• Challenger on its A$270 million institutional placement and $30 million share purchase plan
• Ramsay Health on its A$1.2 billion placement and A$300 million share purchase plan