King & Wood Mallesons has advised a consortium of investors who recently committed over $100m in share capital to new SME start-up bank, Judo Capital.
KWM Special Counsel Matt Egerton-Warburton said, "It's an exciting time for Judo." He added: "The investor group is a mixture of onshore and offshore, private and public companies who provide Judo with the long term security and support of a broad and sophisticated shareholder base. They have shown great confidence in the management of Judo Capital."
This investment provides Judo with further capital to grow its SME lending business in Australia. If Judo is successful in its application to APRA to become a deposit taking institution, the funding base could broaden markedly providing significant future lending capacity.
The consortium of 12 investors includes the investment arms of The Myer Family Investments Pty Ltd, Abu Dhabi Capital Group, Ironbridge and OPTrust, one of Canada's largest pension funds.
KWM Partner Susan Hilliard said, "We were pleased to have assisted our investors in placing significant equity capital into this innovative new participant in the financial sector. Our investors and KWM look forward to continuing to support the exciting new venture." She added: "Judo's fundraising is timely given the Federal Government policy support of new entrants like Judo Capital to the financial sector.
KWM is also acting for financiers providing Judo Capital with debt funding.