There was no sign of the glamorous, mega-value deals that flaunted the deals pages of Lawyers Weekly a few years ago, but in between an unprecedented spate of capital raisings and a rampaging resources sector, there seemed to be enough on the cards to keep these top dealmakers on their toes in 2009. We take a look at the dealmakers of the year.

SHANNON FINCH

MALLESONS STEPHEN JAQUES

EQUITY CAPITAL MARKETS

News of capital raisings have flown through Lawyers Weekly's inbox at rapid-fire pace this year, and one lawyer who has certainly had her hands full is Mallesons Stephen Jaques partner Shannon Finch.

Finch specialises in both equity capital markets transactions and public mergers and acquisitions. Her ECM expertise extends to floats, hybrids and dual-track sale processes, underwriting, capital management transactions and securities regulatory advice, while her M&A experience includes public takeovers and mergers, major privatisations and bids for government assets as well as privately negotiated M&A transactions.

One of her most recent roles - announced in late October - was acting for the joint lead managers (J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs JB Were and Deutsche Bank) on ING Infrastructure Fund's $700 million capital raising, which involved an accelerated one-for-one entitlement offer to raise $544 million, and an institutional placement to raise $156 million.

In the very same week, Mallesons also announced Finch's involvement in IAG Finance (New Zealand)'s restructure of its $550 million Reset Exchangeable Securities and Macquarie Media Group's $294 million entitlement offer (acting for Macquarie Capital Advisers and RBS Equity Capital Markets as underwriters).

Other transactions which got the Finch magic touch this year included Lynas Corporation's $450 million capital raising and Campbell Brother's $196.6 million one-for-six rights issue (acting for J.P. Morgan and RBS Morgans).

The handiwork has paid off - gaining her listings in Best Lawyers International 2009; Chambers Global 2009, Asia Pacific Legal 500 2008/09; PLC Which Lawyer Handbook 2009; PLC Cross Border Capital Markets Handbook 2009; PLC Global Counsel 3000 and IFLRLR 1000 2009.

PHILLIPPA STONE

FREEHILLS

EQUITY CAPITAL MARKETS

Freehills is again well on top of the deals league tables this year, with (as of 27 November 2009) a deal count of 83 - significantly above number-two player Mallesons Stephen Jaques with 65 - and a combined deal value of nearly $84 billion. One significant factor behind that performance is M&A partner Phillippa Stone.

Stone is the joint leader of Freehills' equity capital markets team. She specialises in equity raisings and M&A, including privatisation work and corporate reconstructions for listed companies, as well as general corporate and structured financial products advice.

Recent transactions Stone has been involved with include ANZ's capital raising, which started out at $750 million before being raised to a massive $1.7 billion. Stone headed up the team advising the joint lead managers on the deal: ANZ Securities, Commonwealth Securities, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs JB Were, Macquarie Capital, Morgan Stanley, Westpac and UBS AG - Australian Branch.

Stone also led a team advising the underwriters (UBS and RBS) of CSR's capital raising, launched late October, which comprised a fully underwritten entitlement offer of about $375 million. It was conducted by way of a rather novel structure - a simultaneous accelerated renounceable entitlement offer (SAREC) developed by UBS.

Other big-name deals bearing Stone's mark include: Babcock & Brown Infrastructure's (BBI) $1.8 billion recapitalisation proposal, involving new cornerstone investor Brookfield Asset Management Inc; the Commonwealth Bank of Australia's issue of perpetual exchangeable resalable listed securities (PERLS V) to raise about $1.5 billion; and Macquarie Media Group's $50 million buyback program of staples securities, including a tender buyback.

JOHN SCHEMBRI

GILBERT + TOBIN

BANKING AND FINANCE

One name we've gotten to know very well over the last few months is John Schembri. Schembri specialises in structured and project financing and leveraged financing.

Recently, he led the G+T team advising a syndicate of five banks as lenders to Felix Resources. The financing comprised three syndicated facilities totalling $250 million, and there was also a separate syndicated leverages leasing facility totalling about $119 million to finance mobile equipment leases used in the Moolarben coal project.

Schembri, in partnership with special counsel Caroline Power, also recently successfully advised two banks as lenders to Whitehaven Coal on establishing about $80 million in financial and performance guarantee facilities for Whitehaven.

Other transactions that Schembi has been involved in recently have included the GrainCorp acquisition of the malt manufacturer United Malt Holdings Group for an enterprise value of $757 million.

RICHARD LUSTIG

BAKER & MCKENZIE

M&A

Baker & McKenzie corporate partner Richard Lustig has been keeping himself busy in recent months. Most recently, he headed up the Bakers team advising Indophil Resources NL on the recommended takeover offer by Zijin Mining Group Company, which valued Indophil at about $545 million. Indophil's main asset is its 37.5 per cent stake in the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project in the Philippines - thought to be the seventh-largest underdeveloped copper-gold deposit in the world.

Lustig also recently advised Rex Minerals on its successful $42 million equity raising. The raising comprised a non-renounceable accelerated entitlement offer, with shares issued on a three-for-10 basis at $1.70 a share.

In September, Lustig, along with partner John Mollard, advised Guangdond Rising asset Management (GRAM) on its successful acquisition of a 19.9 per cent interest in PanAust Limited for $215 million. They worked in conjunction with lawyers from the firm's Bangkok, Hong Kong and Beijing offices.