Double US success for Nabarro with completion of two Rule 144A offerings

This article was produced by Nabarro LLP, which joined CMS on 1 May 2017.

Nabarro has completed two US Rule 144A offerings this month. The first transaction involved jointly advising La Française de L’Energie on its €125 million global IPO on the regulated market of Euronext Paris with Broadlaw Group member, Lefèvre Pelletier and Associés (LPA). Nabarro also advised a syndicate of international investment banks on an institutional placing and Rule 144A offering by Faroe Petroleum plc.

La Française de L’Energie is a leading French coal-bed methane and coal-mine methane gas operator with gas assets in the Lorraine and the Nord-Pas de Calais regions in France. LPA advised its longstanding client on the offering in the European Union to retail and institutional investors, while Nabarro advised on the US Rule 144A offering into the United States to qualified institutional buyers.

In the second transaction, Nabarro advised the syndicate of international investment banks (Stifel Nicolaus Europe, RBC and Pareto) participating in an institutional placing and Rule 144A offering to raise £70 million for AIM-traded Faroe to finance its acquisition of additional oil and gas assets in the North Sea from DONG Energy, and a subsequent open offer to existing shareholders. Faroe is an oil and gas exploration and development company focused on the North Sea.

The Nabarro teams comprised Corporate partners Iain Newman and Alasdair Steele, US counsel David Rivera, senior associates Philippa Chatterton and Jack Shepherd, and associates Charlotte Williams and Sabby Buwal.

Commenting on the transactions, US counsel David Rivera said:
"These Rule 144A offerings were an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our cross-border and US securities law capabilities not only in representing our issuer clients, but also in representing our international investment banking clients."

Partner and Head of Corporate, Iain Newman added:
"Our US securities expertise is a great addition to our capital markets team which continues to strengthen even in challenging times post-Brexit."