Baker McKenzie has successfully acted as underwriter counsel to UBS and Moelis Australia on the $276 million capital raising by Centuria Metropolitan REIT (CMA) and as underwriter counsel to Moelis Australia on the $100 million capital raising by Centuria Capital Group (CNI).

The CMA capital raising is being undertaken by way of an institutional placement (A$79 million) and accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer (ANREO) (A$197 million).  The proceeds of the CMA raising will be used to acquire a portfolio of four high quality office assets in strategic inner metropolitan locations, from Hines Global REIT (Acquisition).  CNI currently has a 23,4% holding in CMA. The proceeds of the CNI raising will enable CNI to make a $20 million contribution to CMA for the purposes of the Acquisition, and will fund CNI's participation in the CMA raising.  The CNI raising is also being undertaken by way of an institutional placement (A$79.7 million) and ANREO (A$20.3 million).

Since launching in December 2014, CMA has grown to become Australia’s largest ASX-listed metropolitan office REIT, with $1 billion in assets under management. CNI is an ASX-listed property funds manager with $4.9 billion in assets under management. CNI's property platform includes a range of listed and unlisted property funds.

Baker McKenzie lead partners' on the transactions, Lauren Magraith and Antony Rumboll, jointly stated: "These equity raisings will enable Centuria to acquire high quality office assets and to improve the quality and scale of its property portfolio.  We were pleased to have assisted our long standing clients UBS and Moelis Australia in bringing these transactions to market."

Lauren and Antony were assisted by a Baker McKenzie  lawyers Daniel McGuiness and Francisco Widjojo.

Baker McKenzie's Corporate Markets team has recently acted on a number of successful capital markets and M&A transactions, including advising Macquarie Capital (Australia) Limited as underwriter of RCR Tomlinson's $100 million capital raising, Afterpay Touch Group Limited on its $117 million institutional placement and acquisition of UK business ClearPay Finance Limited, Barminco Holdings Pty Limited on the sale of all of its equity and equity-like instruments to Ausdrill Limited in a transaction worth $271.5 million, and advising HT&E limited on the sale of its outdoor advertising business, Adshel, to oOh! Media Ltd for $570 million. We also advised Taylor Collison, Morgans Financial, National Australia Bank and Ord Minnett in their roles as joint lead managers for the flotation of the WAM Global listed investment company on the ASX, which successfully raised A$466 million.