Herbert Smith Freehills is proud to have advised Barrenjoey Markets Pty Limited (Barrenjoey) and Morgan Stanley Australia Securities Limited (Morgan Stanley) (together, the JLMs) as the joint lead managers and underwriters on the initial public offering of Guzman y Gomez Limited (GYG) (IPO), raising $335.1 million for a $2.2 billion listing on the Australian Securities Exchange – the largest IPO by market capitalisation since 2021.

GYG is one of Australia’s most well-known and fastest growing quick service restaurant businesses, serving Mexican-inspired food throughout their corporate and franchise restaurants in Australia, as well as operating in international markets of Singapore, Japan and the United States.

Barrenjoey and Morgan Stanley acted as joint lead managers, global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners to the IPO, with GYG receiving commitments for up to $242.5 million from cornerstone investors who participated in the pre-IPO raising. The IPO price was A$22.00 per share, and commenced trading at A$30.00 per share. The IPO was upsized due to strong investor demand, raising A$335.1 million in total.

The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by partner Philip Hart and supported by solicitors Selena Tang and David Tilley.

Philip Hart said, “Herbert Smith Freehills is delighted to have advised Barrenjoey and Morgan Stanley on this transaction, and the upsized amount demonstrates that there is strong investor interest in GYG – we believe that other companies considering an IPO will be closely observing the success of GYG as a listed company.”

This deal is a testament to Herbert Smith Freehills’ market-leading work in Equity Capital Markets. Other recent examples include the firm advising:

• NextDC Limited on its A$1.32 billion accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer; and
• Barrenjoey as underwriter of The Star Entertainment Group Limited’s $750 million accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer and placement.