Lovells

Richard Brown, an executive director within the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, joins Lovells on 14 April as a partner in the London office, specialising in equity capital markets (ECM).  It is a key appointment, given the strategic importance of ECM work for the firm's international corporate and finance practices.  

Richard Brown is qualified as a solicitor in the UK.  A graduate of Cambridge, he trained at Linklaters and, on qualification in 1994, remained in their corporate finance department in London and Frankfurt for six years.  In 2000, Richard joined Goldman Sachs' Special Execution Group, focusing on the execution of European equity and corporate finance transactions, as well as advising on activities relating to mergers and acquisitions.  Richard is fluent in German and French.  

Although Lovells is well known to investment banks, its ECM practice was built primarily by representing issuers (with high profile work for clients such as South African Breweries, Granada Media and ALSTOM).  Richard Brown's appointment is expected to hasten the development of an equally strong workload for underwriters, notably the leading investment banks, and reflects the firm's confidence that demand for its expertise in ECM will increase during the medium and long term.     

Hugh Nineham, head of Lovells' corporate practice, said:              

"A strong equity capital markets practice is of considerable strategic importance to the firm, as a key element in our offering to clients.  Richard's appointment at a tricky time for the market shows our commitment to ECM work and indeed to our corporate and finance practices overall.      

"He is a real find, having the ideal combination of technical and commercial skills, gained with first rate players, and excellent contacts within the investment banking community.  All of this equips him to excel in the skills that really matter to clients and that differentiate the leading firms from the rest - namely the ability to build close, personal relationships and to deliver the results needed in a timely fashion.

Lovells' equity capital markets lawyers are based in all the major financial centres in Europe, Asia and the United States.  The firm acts for underwriters, issuers and equity holders, offering an integrated service across the disciplines and jurisdictions required to service their needs.   

The firm's experience includes international and domestic equity offerings in single and multiple jurisdictions, involving retail offerings and private placements.  

Recent examples include:  

Acting for South African Breweries plc (now SABMiller plc) on its £3.4 billion listing on the London Stock Exchange and its admission to the FTSE 100 Index, and on a number of its subsequent corporate transactions, including the creation of its innovative synthetic treasury stock structure in 1999, its US$600 million convertible bond issue and US$420 million equity placing in 2001and, in 2002, the acquisition of Miller Brewing Company and on a US$1 billion international equity placing (pulled after announcement due to adverse market conditions) 

Acting for ALSTOM on its 1998 flotation (triple listing in Paris, London and New York), which remains the largest non-privatisation IPO in France (and earned Lovells the IFLR award for International Equity Deal of the Year)   

Acting for Granada Media in the £7.5 billion demerger of Granada Media from Granada Compass plc, involving the £7.5 billion flotation of Granada Media, the largest UK IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2000   

Acting for Goldman Sachs International in its capacity as sponsor and underwriter of the £1.3 billion IPO and listing of Egg plc on the London Stock Exchange  

Acting, since 1998, for Baltimore Technologies plc in equity transactions valued at over £1.1 billion, including its original London and Nasdaq flotations and over £275 million of new capital raising  

Acting for many years for the German government on various stages in the privatisation of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Deutsche Telekom AG; we also acted for the government on the privatisation of Deutsche Post AG  

Acting in 2000 and 2001, for Suez on its issues of €850 million of exchangeable bonds into shares of Fortis (B), of €246 million of exchangeable bonds into shares of Union Minière and €230 million of exchangeable bonds into shares of Vinci