Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer advises MA Credit Income Trust on A$50 million placement

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (HSF Kramer) has advised MA Financial Group (ASX:MAF) on the A$50 million placement for the MA Credit Income Trust (ASX:MA1).

MA Financial Group is a global alternative asset manager specialising in private credit, real estate, and hospitality. It acts as the investment manager to the MA Credit Income Trust.

The proceeds of the placement will be invested in private credit investments in three core market segments – direct asset lending, asset-backed lending, and direct corporate lending – by curated exposure to MA Financial Group’s flagship credit strategies. In conjunction with the placement, MA Financial Group also participated in a selldown of its interest in MA1 to meet excess demand from investors under the placement.

The HSF Kramer team was led by Partners Nicole Pedler and Rebecca Maslen-Stannage, with support from Senior Associate Eloise Jolly and Solicitors Benjamin Hansen and Josephine Fenn.

HSF Kramer partner Nicole Pedler said, “We are proud to have supported MA Financial Group on another key milestone for MA1 following its IPO earlier this year. It’s been a pleasure to continue working closely with the team and to see such ongoing demand in the market for the MA1 product.”

HSF Kramer Chair and Senior Partner Rebecca Maslen-Stannage said, “MA Financial Group is an important client of our Firm and we are thrilled to be supporting it in finding new ways for clients to find access to its flagship private credit strategies”

HSF Kramer’s work on the placement follows advising on the IPO and ASX listing of the MA Credit Income Trust in March 2025.  The firm also advised MA Financial on its A$90.4 million acquisition of specialist real estate investment management firm IP Generation in June 2025, and on the A$490 million commitment it received from Warburg Pincus for its Real Estate Credit Vehicle in October 2024.

"The HSF Kramer team has played a pivotal role in the success of several strategic initiatives of MA Financial Group, including the launch of our first private credit listed investment trust, MA1. Their collaborative approach and expertise have made them a valued and trusted partner," Rebecca Ong, Chief Legal and Operating Officer, MA Financial Group Limited, said.

HSF Kramer is recognised as Australia’s leading law firm for IPOs and equity deals, with this placement the latest example of the firm’s market-leading work in Australian capital markets.

In addition to the March 2025 IPO of the MA Credit Income Trust, other recent examples include advising:

• GemLife on its A$750 million IPO and ASX listing
• HMC Capital on establishing a global digital infrastructure platform, DigiCo Infrastructure REIT, and its $1.9 billion IPO with a $2.4 billion market capitalisation on admission to ASX’s official list (the largest IPO by capital raise on ASX since 2018);
• Barrenjoey and Morgan Stanley as joint lead managers and underwriters of the Guzman y Gomez $335.1 million IPO with a market capitalisation of $2.2 billion; and
• Vitrafy Life Sciences on its IPO, raising $35 million for a $117.5 million listing on the ASX