Carey Olsen advises Mayflower Acquisition Ltd. on US$500 million London IPO
Carey Olsen has acted as British Virgin Islands counsel to Mayflower Acquisition Limited, a BVI-based special purpose acquisition company ("SPAC"), on its initial public offering on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
The IPO raised US$500 million, which Mayflower intends to use to funds to acquire a target company or business. The offering comprised US$494.75 million through the placing of ordinary shares at US$10 per share, alongside an additional US$5.25 million via founder-preferred shares. Along with several affiliates, the three founding investors committed a total of US$75 million.
Mayflower was established by Noam Gottesman, CEO of TOMS Capital Investment Management LP; Jeremy Isaacs, former CEO of Lehman Brothers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Roger Nagioff, founding partner of JRJ Group.
Carey Olsen's BVI team based in Guernsey, comprising partner Andrew Boyce, senior associate James Cooke and associate Claire Cooke, advised Mayflower on the transaction. It is the first completed London-listed acquisition vehicle since the US$550 million IPO of Admiral Acquisition Limited in May 2023, on which the Guernsey based team also advised, having previously advised on a long line of other London-listed BVI SPACs. The team was supported by Carey Olsen's CO Services team in the BVI.
Andrew Boyce commented: "We are pleased to have supported Mayflower on the BVI aspects of this milestone transaction, which is one of the largest London-listed IPOs this year. The transaction not only reflects the BVI's continued appeal as a leading offshore jurisdiction for LSE listings, but highlights the strength of our BVI corporate team in Guernsey in providing cross-border capital markets expertise."
