Andean Resources Ltd’s $250 million capital raising

Andean Resources tapped the Australian, Canadian and the US markets in a $250 million capital raising to advance the exploration and development of its Cerro Negro project in Argentina and for general working capital purposes. Andean was later acquired by Goldcorp. Corrs acted as Australian counsel to Andean Resources Ltd.

The deal comprised of an agreement between Andean and a syndicate of underwriters with BMO Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets as joint book runners. The underwriters agreed to buy on a bought-deal basis by way of a short form prospectus.

Galilee Energy Ltd IPO

Corrs played a major role in ensuring Galilee Energy would become a pure play coal seam gas explorer through advising on the IPO to spin-off its New Zealand coal assets.

The transaction took many twists and turns, initially involving a spin-off of 75% of Galilee’s New Zealand coal assets through a fully-underwritten, $25 million IPO of shares in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Eastern Resources, with the prospectus envisaging Galilee would retain a 25% stake.

The prospectus for the offer was subsequently withdrawn, as Galilee accepted an alternative proposal from Bathurst Resources Ltd to acquire all of the shares in Eastern Resources for $35 million.

Macarthur Coal Ltd’s $438.7 million institutional placement and associated $55.2 million share purchase plan

Macarthur Coal recently raised funds to acquire a 90% interest in MDL162, a coal mining asset located in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland. Corrs advised Macarthur Coal on all aspects of the capital raising.

This involved a $439 million institutional placement and $55 million share purchase plan, including the placement underwriting agreement and all aspects of the acquisition.

The transactions were negotiated and implemented within a very short period of time requiring a high degree of responsiveness and broad range of expertise, including equity capital markets, energy and resources, banking and finance, stamp duty and FIRB expertise.

Suncorp Metway Ltd’s ASX listing of Suncorp Group Ltd

Corrs acted for Suncorp Metway Ltd (SML) in connection with the establishment and listing on the ASX of a new non-operating holding company, Suncorp Group Ltd (SGL).

The transaction had a number of unique features in connection with the listing on ASX and it involved close liaison with the ASX to implement the transaction in a tight timeframe.

The new structure assists SGL with regard to its Australian prudential requirements and assists with organising its business into three distinct divisions – banking, general insurance and life insurance – under a listed non-operating holding company.

Treasury Wine Estates listing

A key aspect of the Fosters Group demerger was the ASX listing of Treasury Wine Estates. Corrs advised Foster’s on all aspects of Treasury Wine Estates’ admission to the official list of ASX, whose shares commenced trading on ASX in May 2011, with a book value of around $3.2 billion.

Treasury Wine Estates is now the world's biggest listed stand-alone wine company, and Australia's largest supplier of bottled wine, with four of the top 10 wine brands. It owns Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Beringer, Lindemans, Mildara and Rosemount Estate.