Field Fisher Waterhouse advises AIM-quoted Sovereign Reversions on takeover
28 July 2010
Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP has advised on the acquisition of
AIM-quoted Sovereign Reversions plc by Grainger Equity Release
Limited, a subsidiary of Grainger plc, a property company listed on
the Main Market. The acquisition values Sovereign at £35
million.
The acquisition allows Sovereign shareholders to realise their
interests at a significant premium to their market value prior to
the offer. The acquisition will also result in a strengthening of
Grainger’s position as a leading equity release provider in the UK,
a sector which is expected to become a mass market product as
increasing numbers of retirees seek to supplement their pension
savings by releasing capital from their homes.
Field Fisher Waterhouse corporate partners Dominic
Gurney-Champion and George Cotter led on the matter, assisted by
solicitor Edward Westhead.
The Sovereign transaction is the latest deal in a successful
first half of 2010 for the firm’s Equity Capital Markets group.
Since the beginning of the year the team has completed 11
transactions with a combined value of over £260 million. Highlights
have included acting on the flotation of Kea Petroleum plc, the
first AIM IPO of 2010, and on a secondary fundraising for Gulf
Keystone Petroleum Limited which raised US$165 million, making it
one of the largest AIM fundraisings of the year.
Dominic Gurney-Champion said: “We have seen encouraging signs in
the market in the first six months of 2010. As well as continuing
work on secondary fundraisings and takeovers we are seeing an
increasing stream of IPO-related activity.”
Sovereign was also advised by Charles Stanley Securities and
Fairfax I.S. PLC. Grainger was advised by J. P. Morgan Cazenove,
Freshfields and Dickinson Dees.
For further press information please
contact:
Louise Eckersley, PR Manager,
Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP on +44 (0)20 7861 41