WilmerHale pitch lands firm Optos float on LSE

US firm WilmerHale is building a track record for Scottish technology floats after it advised Dunfermline-based medical technology business Optos on its London Stock Exchange (LSE) IPO.

The firm's team on the £50m listing was led by London-based corporate partner Richard Eaton, with support from Scott Leonard-Morgan and Duncan Milne on corporate matters and Chris Prout and David Andrews on employment-related issues.

WilmerHale won the work while attending a beauty parade last October, having been invited to pitch by the company after the firm had advised Optos on IP issues in the US.

Eaton, who previously represented Wolfson Microelectronics on its 2003 float, said WilmerHale had begun to "corner the market" in Scottish IPOs.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted as legal counsel to joint lead managers Goldman Sachs and Nomura Code Securities.

Optos has pioneered a retinal imaging device known as 'Panoramic200', which is used in a diagnostic tool that facilitates the early detection of eye and non-eye-related diseases.

The company's shares started trading on the LSE on 16 February.