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Banking giant’s selldown draws major firms
Allen & Overy and Allens have acted in the sale of part of Westpac’s stake in BT Investment Management.
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Firms: Allen & Overy (BT Investment Management); Allens (Westpac Banking Group)
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Deal: Westpac’s sale of part of its shareholding in BT Investment Management (BTIM) via a fully underwritten institutional offer of 55 million BTIM shares and a retail offer to eligible BTIM and Westpac shareholders of up to 27 million BTIM shares.
Value: About $700 million.
Area: Finance
Key players: The A&O team was led by corporate partners Michael Parshall (pictured) and Tony Sparks, with support from corporate associates Dan Harris and Katherine Rickard and regulatory support from corporate partner Jason Denisenko.
The Allens team acted for Westpac.
Deal significance: BTIM is the largest ASX-listed pure fund manager with funds under management of $80.7 billion as at 31 May 2015. Selling down to between 31 and 40 per cent from 59 per cent will significantly increase the BTIM free float and enable inclusion of BTIM shares in key indices.
From Westpac’s perspective, the deal enables the bank to increase its Tier One capital ratio by between 10 and 15 basis points at a time when regulators globally are seeking stronger capital outcomes from banks. It also enables Westpac to deconsolidate BTIM and equity account its investment.
