Julian Makin

About Julian Makin

Julian’s practice focuses on equity and debt capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. particularly in the energy and natural resources sector.

Recent work

Significant transactions on which Julian has worked include advising:

• the international share offerings and listings by Aer Lingus, Airtel Africa, Allied Irish Banks, Dunelm Mill, Essar Energy, Fairfield Energy on its aborted, IPO, Fresnillo, Gondola Holdings (the owner of the PizzaExpress, ASK and Zizzi brands), Hansen Transmissions, Mapeley, Marlborough Stirling, com, Nikanor, Nynex Cablecomms, Premier Foods, Perform, Petershill Partners, QinetiQ, Shawbrook, Sophos, Telecity, TSB Banking, The Future Network, Wolfson Microelectronics, Worldpay, Vallares, Virgin Money, Vivo Energy, Xstrata, Yell and the dual listing of lastminute.com;
• rights issues by Barclays, Cobham (twice), Lloyds Banking Group, FirstGroup, National Express, New World Resources, Petropavlovsk, Prudential, SSP and Xstrata on placings and open offers by Arena Leisure, Barclays (including its subsequent issues of mandatory convertible notes, reserve capital instruments and warrants), Invensys, Kenmare Resources, Lloyds Banking Group, Shaftesbury, Waterford Wedgwood and Yell on capital raisings by Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc, Fortis and Punch Taverns and on cash and cash box placings by Abcam, Centamin, Cobham, Hikma, Hochschild, Liberty International, Mapeley, Mwana Africa, National Express, Nikanor, Pennon, PoloResources, Serco, SOCO, SSP and Xstrata;
• United Kingdom Financial Investments in relation to His Majesty’s Treasury trading plan relating to shares in Lloyds Banking Group and on various amendments/extensions to the plan and in relation to His Majesty’s Treasury’s sale of shares in Lloyds Banking Group in 2014. United Kingdom Financial Investments in relation to His Majesty’s Treasury’s proposed sale of shares in Lloyds Banking Group by way of a fully marketed public retail offering. The bookrunners on the sale by His Majesty’s Treasury of shares in Lloyds Banking Group in 2013;
• United Kingdom Government Investments in relation to His Majesty’s Treasury trading plan relating to shares in NatWest Group and on various amendments/extensions to the plan, on the establishment of a directed off-market buy‑back arrangement with NatWest Group pursuant to which NatWest Group can buy‑back NatWest Group shares in a number of different situations and on the buybacks that took place in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, in relation to His Majesty’s Treasury’s sale of shares in NatWest Group in 2015, 2018 and 2021 and in relation to His Majesty’s Treasury’s proposed sale of shares in NatWest Group by way of a fully marketed public retail offering;
• Saudi National Bank on its investment in Credit Suisse;
• Merrill Lynch on the financing of the RBS led consortium’s offer for ABN AMRO including the standby equity and debt underwriting arrangements;
• mmO2 on its demerger from British Telecommunications and its listings on the London and New York Stock Exchanges and on the establishment of its EMTN programme, subsequent updates and drawdowns;
• Northern Rock on its demutualisation and listing on the London Stock Exchange and Abbey National on its acquisition of National & Provincial Building Society;
• convertible bond issues by Xstrata, Rank and Aveng, on the offer by Fortis of Conditional Capital Exchangeable Notes, on the establishment of various EMTN programmes, updates to and drawdowns thereunder and on various private placements of bonds in the US;
• on numerous public and private acquisitions including the following public offers:
  • for Xstrata on its US$90 billion all share merger of equals with Glencore, on the acquisitions of MIM and Falconbridge, on its possible offer for Lonmin, on its proposed merger of equals with Anglo American and on the proposed offer by Vale;
  • Vivo Energy on its acquisition by Vitol Group;
  • Vallar on its acquisition of interest in PT Bumi Resources and Berau Coal Energy, two of Indonesia’s largest listed coal mining companies
  • Vallares (now called Genel) on its US$2.1 billion reverse takeover of Genel Energy International Limited, the Kurdistan oil producer;
  • DP World on its acquisition by Ports and Free Zone World which will be the first takeover of a DIFC incorporated and Nasdaq Dubai listed company using a DIFC court approved scheme of arrangement;
  • Microchip Technologies on its proposed offer for CSR;
  • the independent non‑executive directors of NC KazMunayGas on its two take private attempts involving JSC KazMunayGas Exploration Production;
  • Telecity on its proposed acquisition of Interxion;
  • Telecity on its acquisition by Equinix, Inc.;
  • AB InBev on its acquisition of SABMiller; and
  • BP on the financing aspects of its acquisition of BHP Billiton’s US onshore unconventional oil and gas assets.