Baker McKenzie has advised Global Ports Holding, the world's largest independent cruise port operator, on its initial public offering and listing on the London Stock Exchange. The deal closed today, 17 May 2017.

The floatation gives the company a market capitalisation of £465 million. The company plans to use the majority of the net proceeds to expand and develop new ports.

Leading on the transaction, Simon Porter, London head of Baker McKenzie’s structured capital markets group, said: "We're delighted to have advised Global Ports Holding on its listing on the London Stock Exchange. This is an exciting time for a company that started as a purely domestic port operator and has grown to become the world’s largest cruise port operator by number of ports and passengers. We're proud to have played a part in it, having worked with the company for many years. For us, this transaction is also a great demonstration of Baker McKenzie's unique cross- border expertise and ability to handle the largest and most complex capital markets transactions."

The Baker McKenzie team was lead by London partners Simon Porter, Edward Bibko and James Thompson, together with Istanbul partner Muhsin Keskin, and supported by associates Cristina Brown and David Jahoda (London), and Berk Cin and Deniz Erden (Istanbul).