MinterEllison recently advised Metrics Credit Partners (“Metrics”) on the successful $190+ million institutional placement undertaken by its ASX-listed MCP Master Income Trust (ASX:MXT).
Metrics is an Australian based alternative asset management firm specialising in direct lending to Australian companies. It has approximately $7 billion in assets under management and is a leading participant in the Australian private credit market.
The proceeds of the placement to wholesale investors are expected to enable Metrics to continue to provide a valuable source of finance to Australian companies. Metrics Managing Partner Andrew Lockhart noted that the offer to investors was oversubscribed and commented that: “The positive response to the offer reflects robust demand from investors for sources of attractive and stable income and is a great endorsement of the quality of our investment team and the strong track record of the fund.”
The MinterEllison team was led by Michael Lawson (Partner, Funds), Nicole Sloggett (Partner, Capital Markets) and Yoni Garson (Senior Associate) with support from Patrick McElhone (Lawyer) and Nikita Harlalka (Lawyer).
An Interview With Michael Lawson & Yoni Garson at MinterEllison
How does having a long-standing relationship with the client help in a deal like this?
It is invaluable to ensure the smooth running of the project. Firstly, like with any project that is tied to strict deadlines and turnaround times, having close relationships with internal stakeholders assists in making sure that all issues are dealt with in the smoothest way possible. This could be something simple like automatically knowing who at the client organisation would be the right stakeholder to answer a query. Secondly, the closer we are to clients, the greater depth of understanding we have of their business – this allows us to give commercially relevant advice quickly and draw out key issues and negotiating points with counterparties at an early stage.
What are your main concerns for your client when advising them through an equity raise?
They are both legal and commercial. On the commercial side the main concern is ensuring that the client is well-placed to achieve their commercial timetable and in as stress-free a manner as possible. This is usually achieved with detailed project management. From the legal perspective, it is important at all times to ensure that all regulatory issues are covered and that these issues are acknowledged and properly navigated by all counterparties from early on in the transaction.
How do you ensure that everyone on the multidisciplinary team is on the same page throughout the course of the deal?
We are lucky to have a very large funds team with a strong depth of practice across alternative strategies, with both wholesale and retail experience. This is complemented by a fast-moving and experienced capital markets practice. These two practice groups work together regularly on a range of fund raises and therefore are used to working as a seamless team with very clear workstreams divided according to proper expertise. This allows us to ensure that the entire team understands the working parts of a project, but also provides that each workstream is being managed by the best person internally with the correct expertise. Frequent contact and a collegiate relationship across these practice groups allows us to manage these types of transactions efficiently.
