Carey Olsen advises Avacta Group on £55 million bond issuance
Carey Olsen has advised Avacta Group PLC (Avacta) on the private placement of £55 million senior unsecured convertible bonds due 2027 to a fund advised by Heights Capital Ireland LLC. Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited acted as sole private placement agent in respect of the offering.
The bonds were issued by Addition Finance (Jersey) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Avacta incorporated in Jersey. The proceeds of the bond issue were on lent to Avacta. Application will be made to list the bonds on The International Stock Exchange.
A Jersey cash box structure is a well-established financing tool for facilitating access by UK listed companies to immediate funding by way of a convertible bond issue.
The Carey Olsen team was led by partner Simon Marks, with support from senior associate Bryony Bird and associate Catriona Urquhart. The team advised on all aspects of Jersey law and worked alongside onshore counsel Walker Morris and Ashurst. The team will also list the bonds.
Simon said: "We are delighted to have been able to assist Avacta with this deal. Our team has been involved in a significant number of transactions where Jersey issuers have been used by listed companies to issue convertible bonds. This deal uses an interesting variation on the typical structure which allows us to facilitate the investment led by Heights Capital. It was good to see the bond issuance complete and associated acquisition close."
