By Philip Hoult
Brobeck Hale & Dorr (BHD), the London office joint venture of US firms Brobeck Phleger & Harrison and Hale & Dorr, notched up its third major initial public offering (IPO) in six months last week when it advised ARC International on its stock market debut.
The IPO raised £157.5m and valued the semi-conductor IP company at £545m. By the end of the first day of trading on the London Stock Exchange, the company was worth £1.1bn.
Apart from the ARC deal, BHD's other recent IPOs were for Bookham Technology, which is currently valued at £3.9bn, and Parthus Technologies, which is now valued at £1.5bn.
BHD's team was led by corporate partners Chris Grew and Richard Eaton, with specialist advice from partners Pierre-Andre Dubois (IP), Henry Clinton-Davis (employment) and Julia Bracewell (corporate restructuring).
Asked to explain the firm's success in the IPO market for technology companies, Grew pointed to its ability to provide dual UK/US legal advice and its market focus.
"This is our specialism," he said, adding that the firm aimed to cover the whole financing life cycle of clients. Grew also pointed to the strength the joint venture firm derives from the credibility of its US founders, West Coast Brobecks and East Coast firm Hale & Dorr, in technology work.
In April, in an innovative move, BHD hired Morgan Cole partners Joe Pillman, Jonathan Loake and Kate Eavis to set up an office in Oxford to tap into the Thames Valley and Oxford technology community.
Freshfields, led by Jeffrey Roberts, advised Goldman Sachs International, the global co-ordinator and sponsor.