10 Mar 2009
LG advises on a quartet of AIM fundraisings
International business law firm Lawrence Graham LLP (LG) has advised on a quartet of AIM fundraisings which have completed in the last 10 days with an aggregate value of approximately £50 million.
LG advised long standing client Patagonia Gold Plc, a mineral exploration company with assets in South America, on its placing and subscription raising £9.3 million. The placing, which was oversubscribed, was carried out by Matrix Corporate Capital LLP.
LG also advised natural resources client, Archipelago Resources Plc, on the £9.7 million subscription by investment funds managed by Baker Steel Capital Managers LLP and the related option to subscribe for further shares which, if exercised, is anticipated to raise an additional £8 million.
At the same time, LG advised nominated advisers Liberum Capital, in connection with its £18 million placing for Oakley Capital Investments Limited, and Cenkos Securities, in connection with its £6 million placing for Managed Support Services Plc.
The LG Corporate team advising Patagonia Gold and Archipelago Resources was led by corporate partner Tom Nicholls with assistance from corporate lawyers Claire Steel and Kristian Rogers. Tom Nicholls also advised Liberum with assistance from corporate lawyer John Reed and corporate partner Oliver Riley lead the Cenkos deal with assistance from lawyer Farhod Moghadam.
Tom Nicholls said: “It is an encouraging sign that these companies have been able to raise equity finance in the current market. The AIM market remains way off the levels it was at 12-18 months ago and it is premature to say that the market is in recovery, but these deals clearly demonstrate that there is activity at the small and mid cap levels for those companies with credible growth stories."
He added: "We are benefiting from the depth of our client list and our dual focus on both the listed entities and the Nomad community."
Matrix Corporate Capital was advised by K&L Gates LLP, Baker Steel Capital was advised by Simmons & Simmons, Oakley Capital was advised by SJ Berwin and Managed Support Services was advised by Osborne Clarke.