Jones Day London scoops lead role on £1.36bn ENRC flotation

The London office of Jones Day has secured one of the Stock Exchange’s biggest flotations this year, advising Kazakhstan mining company Eurasian Natural Resources Corp (ENRC) on its £1.36bn London listing.

European head of capital markets Giles Elliott led the team for Jones Day. The firm’s Moscow office advised on a $1.5bn (£730m) structured trade finance facility for ENRC earlier this year.

Around 20 per cent of ENRC’s total shares were priced at 540p each, which was in the middle of the indicative range of 480p-600p per share.

The IPO is one of the largest seen in London this year. Russian bank and Latham & Watkins client VTB achieved London’s biggest flotation in May, at £4bn (www.thelawyer. com, 17 May), with Linklaters advising the underwriting banks.

On the current deal, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is advising the banks, with corporate finance partner Ashar Quershi leading. Deutsche Bank coordinated the flotation, with ABN Amro Rothschild, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley as joint bookrunners. Cleary has advised on a string of flotations of Russian and CIS companies, including Polymetal’s $600m (£293.5m) London listing earlier this year.

Linklaters also bagged a role on this deal, advising ENRC’s second-biggest shareholder Kazakhmys, Kazakhstan’s biggest copper producer, which is also listed in London. Head of mining Charlie Jacobs led the team.

Linklaters advised Kazakhmys on its 2005 flotation and on the company’s purchase of an 18.8 per cent stake in ENRC in September.