Mark is a Partner in William Fry’s Corporate Department specialising in public and private Mergers & Acquisitions and domestic and international Equity Capital Markets transactions. Mark also advises on securities regulation under the Irish Market Abuse, Transparency and Prospectus regimes and on the Irish Takeover Rules, and has experience of advising clients in relation to the Central Bank of Ireland’s administrative sanctions procedures in the context of securities regulation
Mark’s recent experience includes acting for:
- The Department of Finance on a number of equity capital markets mandates relating to the State's investments in the Irish banking sector, including: the sell-down in 2022 of part of the State's shareholding in AIB Group through a number of accelerated book-built placings and a pre-arranged trading plan; the sell-down across 2021 and 2022 of the State's remaining 13.9% shareholding in Bank of Ireland through a pre-arranged trading plan; the 2017 €3.4bn IPO by the Minister for Finance of a 28.75% stake in AIB; and the 2015 capital restructuring of AIB
- Yew Grove REIT on: the establishment of its 100m share issuance programme and subsequent equity fundraisings totalling €48m; its admission to trading on the regulated securities market of Euronext Dublin; and its €128m sale by scheme of arrangement to Slate Office REIT
- Cpl Resources on its €317.8m sale by scheme of arrangement to OUTSOURCING Inc.
- Uniphar on its €150m IPO and admission to the Euronext Growth and AIM markets of Euronext Dublin and the London Stock Exchange, respectively
- TrustStamp on its admission to the Euronext Growth market of Euronext Dublin
- Linde AG on the Irish aspects of its US$70bn merger with Praxair Inc. under a new Irish holding company, Linde plc
- The underwriters/bookrunners on the IPOs of Glenveagh Properties, Greencoat Renewables and Dalata Hotel Group
- The underwriters/bookrunners on various follow-on offerings by VR Education Holdings, Dalata Hotel Group, Glenveagh Properties, Greencoat Renewables, Malin Corporation and Green REIT
One client enthuses: "He was absolutely exceptional in his service delivery and negotiated a large number of legal documents with precision and care." Chambers Global 2022
Clients describe Mark as "very knowledgeable, consistent, reliable and commercial." Chambers Global 2021
Mark has been described by clients as "very diligent in identifying and understanding the key issues, highlighting the important points within the detail and then moving processes forward. Very commercial and highly professional." Legal 500 2020
An impressed client says that "Mark is an exceptional lawyer: very commercial and has a keen understanding of the client's needs, and he delivers for them." Chambers Global 2020
"He is well prepared, responsive, knowledgeable and personable." IFLR1000 2020
According to one source Mark is "very receptive, considered, prompt and concise in his advice. He's very good at explaining very technical pieces of the law to non-lawyers in a very intelligible fashion and also very prompt and available.” Another client adds Mark "has a personable manner about him, is all over the detail, is a very impressive character, and seems to be going from strength to strength in improving his franchise.” Chambers Europe 2020
Mark has a growing reputation in the market acting on IPOs and stock exchange listings on both the Irish and London exchanges. He is "thorough, straightforward and responsive" according to market commentators. Chambers Global 2019
The 'excellent', 'incredibly well-informed' Mark Talbot advised the Department of Finance on the IPO of a 28% stake in AIB and the re-admission of AIB to the Irish and London Stock Exchanges. Legal 500 EMEA 2019
"He is well prepared, responsive, knowledgeable and personable. I trust him to guide me through difficult legal problems and to negotiate effectively on my behalf." IFlR 1000 2019
Mark is listed in Best Lawyers 2019 under 'The Best Lawyers in Ireland' for work in Capital Markets Law.