Deal: Bank of Queensland (BOQ) has acquired ME Bank and completed a capital raising.

Value: $1.35 billion.

Area: M&A, finance, corporate.

Key players: The legal team advising BOQ was led by partners Rhys Casey and David Friedlander, supported by senior associates Jo Ruitenberg and Matt McKeown and solicitors Tamara Akl, Samantha McDonald, Caroline Paskevich and Astrid Sugden. 

Simon Cooke handled the competition aspects, with Kate Jackson-Maynes and Samuel Farrell covering regulatory, Kirsten Bowe on IT/IP and Mandy Tsang on insurance, a statement from KWM confirmed.

Deal significance: This transaction saw KWM advise BOQ on all aspects of the transaction, combining M&A, banking, insurance, IT/IP, competition and ECM expertise to help execute the acquisition and associated equity raising. Subject to necessary approvals, it is expected the deal will completed by the end of BOQ’s financial year in August 2021.

“To fund the acquisition, BOQ is undertaking an underwritten accelerated pro-rata non-renounceable entitlement offer to raise approximately $1.0 billion and an underwritten $350 million institutional placement,” KWM’s statement read.

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“BOQ considers the acquisition a transformative one, with ME Bank’s business delivering material scale, doubling BOQ’s retail bank, and providing geographic diversification to the benefit of BOQ, its shareholders, customers, and people.”

Commenting further, KWM co-lead partner on the deal, Mr Casey said: “This is an exciting deal for BOQ. The future of banking is increasingly digital, so the opportunity to leverage ME Bank’s digital assets and their potential to accelerate BOQ’s strategic objectives was pretty compelling.”