DLA Piper was the principal legal advisor on the largest listed investment company (LIC) initial public offering (IPO) to list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) post global financial crisis (GFC).

The new listed investment company (LIC) QV Equities Limited commenced trading on the ASX today, 22 August 2014. The Initial Public Offering (IPO) has initially raised AU$185 million of fully paid shares plus the issue of 185 million exchange traded free options which on exercising would double funds raised to a total of AU$370 million.

DLA Piper advised QV Equities Limited and its investment manager Investors Mutual Ltd.

The DLA Piper team was led by partner Martin Jamieson, head of DLA Piper's Australian funds management practice, supported by senior associates Nicole Sloggett and Tze Ting Liew.

The offer was made in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore with DLA Piper advising in respect of the offers in each of these jurisdictions.

The QV Equities IPO overtook the previous largest LIC IPO post global financial crisis by PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund (PGF) which listed in December 2013 (also advised by DLA Piper). PM Capital initially raised AU$173 million with free options which on exercise would take total funds raised to AU$346 million.

Martin Jamieson says: "We are very pleased to have assisted QV Equities Limited and Investors Mutual, on what is their first listed fund. This successful fundraising by a leading unlisted unit trust fund manager will only escalate the more recent renewed and continued interest in the LIC sector by the mainstream funds management industry."

"The mainstream traditional unlisted unit trust funds management industry is naturally drawn to the LIC sector's ability to effectively penetrate the broker community and more importantly their clients, in particular their SMSF clients, a distribution base not optimally addressed by the traditional funds management industry to date. Secondly, the LIC sector provides the ability to capture long term committed capital care of LICs traditionally not offering a redemption facility, unlike unlisted unit trusts, as investors in LICs can obtain liquidity by selling their interest on the ASX and as a result fund managers have long term committed capital not subject to redemption."

DLA Piper has acted on nearly all the large LIC IPOs on the ASX post GFC. Martin Jamieson is also separately currently acting for a very large Australian unlisted unit trust fund manager, the largest to date post GFC, to also effect the IPO of its first LIC prior to year end. He says: "This further IPO is looking like being the first LIC IPO to rely on the stamping exemption from the ban on conflicted remuneration as now possible care of the Palmer United Party formally committing on 15 July to support the Government's amendments to the Corporations Regulations to extend the stamping exemption from FOFA to LICs (and other investment entities)."

DLA Piper has supported more LICs in the post GFC market than any other law firm in Australia, and delivers market leading legal outcomes to the sector. Martin Jamieson and the DLA Piper team are also assisting several funds managers of traditional unlisted unit trusts to digest and optimally take advantage of the enhanced offering now available for admitting their unlisted unit trusts to trading status on the ASX's AQUA Trading Market. These enhance offerings are now possible as a result of the ASX recently deploying the mFund Settlement Service and making revisions to the AQUA Rules. A fund manager can now potentially utilise the AQUA Trading Market to access the ASX's extensive distribution network for their traditionally unquoted and previously non-traded unit trust products.