Liberty launches a second fundraising
SHOPPING centre operator Liberty International yesterday rattled analysts and investors after tapping shareholders for the second time this year in a £280.5m fundraising.
The group announced a placing of 56.1m shares, representing 9.9 per cent of Liberty issued share capital, at 500p each.
The price is an 11.3 per cent discount to Tuesday’s closing price.
Liberty International went cap in hand to investors in April to raise £592m of fresh capital via a share sale, prompting analysts to criticise the group’s failure to raise sufficient funds at that time.
Evolution Securities analyst Harry Stoke said: “Liberty has a history of raising equity expensively and spending it expensively.”
Liberty hopes the fundraising will give it sufficient firepower to revive investment and acquisition plans it mothballed at the start of the credit crunch.
Chief executive David Fischel said: “We didn’t expect to be back quite so soon after our earlier equity raising.”
SIMON MACKENZIE SMITH
MERRILL LYNCH
RUPERT HUME KENDALL
MERRILL LYNCH
WHEN Liberty International decided to tap investors for the second time this year, it employed its house broker Bank of America Merrill Lynch, with whom it has built up a close relationship over the last 15 years.
The team involves a slate of long-term bank employees including Simon Mackenzie-Smith, Rupert Hume-Kendall and Simon Fraser
Mackenzie-Smith has been with Merrill since 1996, when he joined as managing director of investment banking. He is credited with being instrumental in establishing the bank’s UK franchise, and has been involved in a wide range of mergers and acquisitions and restructurings – including Punch’s acquisition of managed pubs operation Spirit in 2006.
Hume-Kendall, chairman of equity capital markets has spent 12 years at the bank and has been heavily involved in advising Santander, WPP, 3i and British Airways.
Last year Hume-Kendall came 67th in a poll of the City’s 1,000 most powerful people. He began his market career as a broker at RBSHoare Govett.
Fraser has spent 13 years at the bank, working alongside Mackenzie Smith on the Segro, Debenhams and Liberty deals, as well as Inchcape, Natex and SSE.