Nigel.Farr@hsf.com_HC-Article-201703290406

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and Norton Rose Fulbright have advised on UK investment trust BioPharma Credit's $761.9m (£613m) initial public offering (IPO).

The company raised the funds last week in a flotation on the Specialist Fund Segment of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), a regulated market for specialised investment entities targeting professionally advised investors. It is a part of the LSE's main market.

It is the largest UK IPO this year so far and the largest investment trust IPO in the UK market since UK equity manager Neil Woodford's £800m investment trust IPO in 2015.

BioPharma Credit is expected to be admitted to the LSE tomorrow (30 March).

HSF London corporate partner Nigel Farr (pictured) led the firm's team advising on the IPO, which was announced by the company earlier this month.

US finance partner Gabrielle Wong advised on US finance issues relating to the seed assets, while London tax partner Aurell Taussig advised on UK tax issues and US partner Dinesh Banani advised on US securities law.

Farr said: "This was an extremely complex IPO, which presented a wide array of technical issues, many of them novel, primarily as a result of the seed asset acquisition process. The extremely successful launch demonstrates the appetite in the market for a novel and highly attractive investment proposition offering exposure to the healthcare industry."

Norton Rose head of London investment funds Ian Fox led the firm's team that advised the IPO's joint book runners JPMorgan Cazenove and Goldman Sachs International.

Recent London IPOs include this month's junior market listing of UK logistics company Eddie Stobart, which hopes to raise around £130m. Hogan Lovells and King & Spalding are advising.