Herbert Smith Freehills advises Vitrafy Life Sciences on its successful A$117.5 million IPO

Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Vitrafy Life Sciences Limited on its successful IPO. The IPO raised $35 million and resulted in a market capitalisation based on the offer price of $117.5 million.

Vitrafy is an Australian company with the mission to become a global leader in cryopreservation by significantly improving the cell survival of cryopreserved biological materials. Vitrafy has designed and developed an innovative solution for the advancement of cryopreservation, and its technology has been proven to substantially increase cell survival and functionality when compared to many industry and regulatory standards via internal testing and third‑party validation studies.

Vitrafy commenced trading on the Australian Securities Exchange on 26 November 2024, under the ticker ‘VFY’. Vitrafy shares closed 8% up on the first day of trading.

The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by partner Alex Mackinnon and senior associate Jessica Voong, who were supported by solicitors Bevan Wang and Shamana Rofaeel.

Alex Mackinnon said, “We are very pleased to have assisted Vitrafy with this transaction. We thoroughly enjoyed working with the whole Vitrafy team and helping them achieve such a successful IPO. We extend our best wishes for their success as a publicly listed company and are excited to see their continued growth and future achievements.”

The CEO of Vitrafy, Kate Munnings, added “We are excited about Vitrafy’s next phase as a listed company, which provides us the opportunity to further our goal of improving the quality, availability and consistency of healthcare treatments through enhancing cryopreservation. Partnering with Herbert Smith Freehills for our IPO was instrumental in achieving this significant milestone. Their expertise and dedication de-risked our pathway to listing and helped us maximise the success of our IPO.”

Bell Potter and Ord Minnett acted as joint lead managers with Morgans as co-lead manager on the IPO.

This deal is another example of Herbert Smith Freehills’ market-leading work in Australian capital markets. The firm solidified its position as Australia's top ECM legal advisor in 2023, ranking first in deal volume and value (LSEG).