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SJ Berwin Advises Plasmon Plc on Placing and Open Offer Raising £12 Million

Saturday 4th August 2001

SJ Berwin advised Plasmon Plc in its recent placing and open offer of shares, raising approximately £12 million before expenses for the purposes of funding its new UDO data storage technology.

Plasmon is a Cambridge based data storage solutions company.  Amongst other things, the funds raised will enable Plasmon to complete the introduction of UDO technology into the high-end removable data storage market, and to fund the acquisition from Pentax of a key element of intellectual property of the UDO drives. 

Ultra density optical technology utilises the successor to DVD technology to provide greatly increased data storage capacity.  Its development is designed to ensure that Plasmon remains at the leading edge of the high end removable data storage market.

The SJ Berwin team was led by corporate partner Jonathan Djanogly, assisted by corporate solicitor Marcus Biggs.  The placing and open offer was fully underwritten by Investec Bank, advised by Jeffrey Elway of Lawrence Graham LLP.

Notes:

• SJ Berwin is a full-service international legal practice with more than 450 lawyers across its offices in London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Madrid and Paris and our 200 strong corporate finance team has impressive experience and expertise in complex domestic and AIM flotations.
• SJ Berwin has been advising AIM companies and their advisers since the inception of the market in 1995 and is the sole legal sponsor of the AIM Awards Dinner.
• SJ Berwin advised on a total of 8 admissions to AIM in 2004, highlights include acting for TV-Loonland AG the German Media company, in one of the first overseas quoted companies to be admitted using the new fast-track procedure.
• In line with our strategy of acting on high value admissions we are pleased to note that First Calgary Petroleums is top of the list of AIM companies ranked by market capitalisation and that First Quantum Minerals and Centurion Energy International are also in the top 10.
• SJ Berwin was created and thrives as a leading-edge legal services business, focusing on the European and international market place. Our clients are sophisticated buyers of legal services, principally entrepreneurial companies and financial institutions, whom we advise on a comprehensive range of services including Corporate Finance, Commercial, Real Estate, Banking, Reconstruction & Insolvency, Financial Services, Litigation, Employment & Pensions, EU & Competition and Tax.
• Our approach has resulted in the firm winning a number of recent awards including "European Law Firm of the Year" (fund formation) by subscribers to PrivateEquityOnline and Private Equity International in April 2005, "Private Equity Law Firm of the Year 2004" at the European Venture Capital Journal Awards 2005, "Law Firm of the Year" 2004 at the EVCA/Real Deals European Private Equity Awards, "Private Equity Law Firm of the Year" 2004 at the Finance and Law Awards in Paris, "Real Estate Team of the Year" at The Lawyer Awards 2004 and  "World's Leading Firm for Private Funds Expertise" in The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers 2003/4.
• In April 2005 Head of Private Equity, Jonathan Blake, was named Global Lawyer of the Year in the Private Funds category by The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers 2004/2005. In November 2004, Jonathan Blake, was admitted to the British Venture Capital Association "Hall of Fame" for his services to the private equity industry over the last 20 years.

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