According to Bloomberg’s 2007 Australia/New Zealand Equity IPO Issue Adviser table, released this month, Allens’ overall IPO volume for the year was US$1.242 billion ($1.416 billion), representing a market share of around 15 per cent. The firm slid in ahead of Baker & McKenzie at US$1.072 billion ($1.222 billion) and last year’s leader, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, at US$1.005 billion ($1.145 billion). The other big mover is Minter Ellison which came in fourth this year, boosting its market share by around 8 per cent from last year.

Allens has managed to grab the top spot, despite having a lower deal count than its two nearest rivals, due to its involvement in the year’s highest value IPOs. The biggest of these, and Australia’s largest for the year, was the Boart Longyear IPO valued at $2.7 billion. Bloomberg has credited half this value to Allens, and the other half to Bakers, who also advised on the issue.

The two other IPOs making up Allens significant total were BT Investment Management’s $247 million IPO and Macarthur Cook Industrial Property’s $72.5 million IPO.

Allens also advised on a number of other large deals throughout 2007, including Newcrest’s $2 billion entitlement offer, Hutchinson Telecommunications’ $2.7 billion rights issues and Zinifex’s $4 billion IPO of Nyrstar, a newly-formed Belgium entity.