On March 1, Sunshine Oilsands became the first Alberta incorporated company and the first oil sands business to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The global offering raised $578 million for 923.3 million shares, with a portion of the shares being reserved for Hong Kong retail investors.
The Bank of China International, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley acted as the joint global coordinators and joint sponsors of the listing. Premium Investment Corp, Sinopec Century Bright Capital Investment Ltd, and EIG Management Co acted as cornerstone investors.
The issuer develops and produces oil sands within its leased areas in the Athabasca oil sands region in Alberta, Canada. It plans to use the listing proceeds to fund the development of its projects, and for general working capital.
Advising Sunshine Oilsands on Hong Kong law aspects was a Hong Kong-based Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer team led by China chairman Teresa Ko and China corporate head Ken Martin. A Calgary-based McCarthy Tétrault team led by Rick Pawluk and Greg Turnbull represented the issuer on Canadian law aspects. The underwriters were counseled on U.S. law aspects by a Hong Kong-based Skadden team led by partner Alec Tracy, and on Hong Kong law aspects by Kirkland & Ellis capital markets partners Dominic Tsun and Li-Chien Wong.
According to a statement from McCarthy Tétrault, it was determined that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange would attract new oil sands investors from China and other Asian countries, and test investor demand in the Hong Kong market for early-stage resource companies.
"Doing its IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was a bold move that we expect will assist Sunshine in the future," said Turnbull of McCarthy Tétrault."It was a fantastic experience helping Sunshine's leadership to do things differently."
Speaking on the development, Martin of Freshfields said: “Congratulations to Sunshine Oilsands on being the first Alberta incorporated company and the first oil sands business to list in Hong Kong. We are delighted to have assisted Sunshine Oilsands in completing this important transaction.” ALB
Other related stories:
