Bär & Karrer Advises the Banks on IPO of VAT Group

VAT Group AG, a global market leader for high-end vacuum valves, closed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on 18 April 2016. The shares of VAT Group AG were first listed and traded on SIX Swiss Exchange on 14 April 2016.

In the IPO a total of 12,000,000 shares were placed. Certain selling shareholders have granted the syndicate banks an over-allotment option of 1,800,000 shares. VAT's shares priced at the upper end of the price range at CHF 45.00 per share. At this price, the placement volume corresponds to an amount of CHF 621 million (assuming full exercise of the over-allotment option) and an implied total market capitalization of CHF 1.35 billion, making VAT's IPO is the largest in Europe year to date.

UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG acted as Joint Global Coordinators and together with J.P. Morgan Securities plc as Joint Bookrunners. Bank Vontobel AG and Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG acted as Co-Lead Managers.

Bär & Karrer advised the banks in this IPO. The team was led by Till Spillmann and included Andrea Giger (Capital Markets), Markus Wang (IP), Mani Reinert and Philipp Gubler (both Competition Law), Susanne Schreiber and Francesco Carelli (both Tax), as well as Laura Widmer (Employment) and Annina Dillier.