Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer advises MA Credit Income Trust on A$190.5 million entitlement offer

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has advised MA Financial Group (ASX:MAF) and Equity Trustees on a A$190.5 million equity raise by the MA Credit Income Trust (ASX:MA1) via a non-renounceable entitlement offer and shortfall offer.

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 via MA Investment Management, and Equity Trustees acts as its responsible entity to MA1.

The proceeds of the offer will be allocated to private credit investments across three core market segments – direct asset lending, asset backed lending and direct corporate lending – through curated exposure to MA Financial Group’s flagship credit strategies managed by MA Investment Management.

The HSF Kramer team was led by partners Nicole Pedler and Rebecca Maslen-Stannage, with support from senior associate Eloise Jolly and solicitors Ella Blythe, Benjamin Hansen and Isabelle Holthouse.

HSF Kramer partner Nicole Pedler said, “We are delighted to have supported MA1 in its latest capital raising. It is a privilege to have worked closely with the MA Financial team in relation to MA1 since its IPO, and to have assisted MA1 in raising A$570m in 2025.”

HSF Kramer Chair and Senior Partner Rebecca Maslen-Stannage said, “This latest capital raising by MA1 is another key step in MA Financial achieving its strategic priorities, and we congratulate the MA Financial team on the successful close of MA1’s entitlement offer.”

Commenting on the transaction, Rebecca Ong, Chief Legal and Operating Officer at MA Financial Group, said, ”The success of MA1’s latest capital raise marks another important milestone for MA Financial. We are delighted to have partnered with the HSF Kramer team again and value their contribution towards the success of MA1 and a number of other strategic firm initiatives.”

HSF Kramer’s work on the entitlement offer follows its work advising on the IPO and ASX listing of the MA Credit Income Trust in March 2025 and the subsequent A$50 million placement in July 2025. The firm also advised MA Financial Group on the 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.

This entitlement offer is the latest example of HSF Kramer’s market-leading work in Australian equity capital markets. In addition to the March 2025 IPO and July 2025 placement of the MA Credit Income Trust, other recent examples include advising:

• GemLife on its $750 million IPO in 2025;
• 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;
• J.P. Morgan and UBS as Joint Lead Managers to Xero Limited’s placement and share purchase plan to raise up to ~A$2.05 billion; and
• Elevra Lithium limited on its $69 million placement to Resource Capital Fund VIII L.P. as part of its merger with Piedmont Lithium.