Linklaters bags Mexican FTSE100 debutant

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters have won places on the £4bn listing of Mexican silver giant Fresnillo on the London Stock Exchange in the second largest IPO of the year.

Fresnillo, which is expected to enter the FTSE 100, called on Linklaters corporate partners Charlie Jacobs and Stuart Bedford with managing associate Iain Wagstaff.

Freshfields represented the sponsoring banks, led by JP Morgan Cazanove, through corporate partner Julian Makin.

The flotation was made possible by the demerger of Mexican miner Penoles and its precious metals arm in April this year. Penoles retains a 75 per cent stake in Fresnillo, with the remaining shares sold on the market.

Jacobs, who acted on both matters, said: "We spun the silver and gold business out of the group and put those in a UK plc.

"We then listed the UK plc on the London Stock Exchange with a secondary listing in Mexico."

Mexican firm Galicia y Robles provided local advice for Fresnillo.

The mining sector has remained active despite the ailing markets. Twelve of the top 100 companies on the exchange are now mining conglomerates, a number that will rise further when Fresnillo is included.

Jacobs said Linklaters was hoping to win more major corporate instructions from Fresnillo, adding: "They are going to look to grow organically and then by acquisition."
Also this week, Linklaters helped mining company Kazakhmys see off an unsolicited £7bn takeover offer from Kazakh rival ENRC. The bid was rejected on Friday and ENRC, advised by Jones Day, withdrew its interest.

Jacobs and managing associate Alex Molla provided advice for the target company.