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| L-R: Calvin Lai of Freshfields, Matthew Sheridan of Sidley Austin, Denise Wong of Walkers and Gerhard Radtke of Davis Polk |
Deals of the year
WINNER: Sands China IPO
Listing casino operators is always tricky thanks to the highly regulated environment in which they operate, but Sands China’s $2.5 billion offering in Hong Kong at the end of November was more complicated than most.
Sands China was spun off from its US parent, Las Vegas Sands, prompting a number of carve-out issues about separating the businesses and timing disclosure to potential investors in Hong Kong and shareholders in the company’s NYSE-listed parent.
Sands China’s IPO was also part of a wider fundraising effort, including $1.75 billion in project financing and pre-IPO obligations, some of which converted into equity at the point of listing. This again required regularly updated disclosure on the company’s capitalisation....