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As an eager first seat trainee, the opportunity to work with the Covington capital markets team on a high-profile equity capital markets and M&A transaction was one that I jumped at, albeit with a considerable degree of nerves.
I happened to be sat in the same office as the capital markets partner leading the transaction, allowing me to observe all the nuances of a capital markets deal.
The world's capital markets serve as the trading floors of the business world. Businesses may seek funding via these markets in two main ways; either by issuing shares in their business (equity capital markets or ECM), or by receiving a loan from lenders (debt capital markets).
An example of an ECM transaction is an IPO (initial public offering). This is where a private company raises money by issuing shares for sale on a stock market to investors or members of the public for the first time. Capital markets lawyers commonly advise the company during this IPO process as it changes from a private company run by a small group of shareholders to a public company, subject to...