Jack Kelly

Experience

Jack specialises in public and private M&A and equity capital markets. He also advises public and private companies, together with all other market participants, on corporate governance, securities law requirements and shareholder activism.

Jack spent several years working at two leading US law firms in London and New York and spent nine months on secondment to the EMEA ECM execution desk of a leading international investment bank.

For his equity capital markets work Jack has been recognised as a rising star IFLR1000 (2024 and 2025) and ranked by Chambers Global (2025).

Key highlights include advising:

• AIB on:
  • its €1 billion share buyback programme;
  • its return to full private ownership through a series of transactions in 2024 and 2025 that returned approximately €3.1 billion to the Minister for Finance; and
  • 2024 odd-lot offer to shareholders.
• Alkermes on its recommended $2.37 billion acquisition of Avadel Pharmaceuticals.
• WestRock Company on its $20 billion merger with Smurfit Kappa Group plc to form Smurfit WestRock.
• Kenmare Resources on a possible offer by a consortium led by Oryx Global Partners.
• Certain investors in connection with Brera Holdings’ (now known as Solmate Infrastructure) $300 million PIPE financing.
• Finance Ireland, Ireland’s largest non-bank lender, on its strategic investment by M&G and PIMCO.
• Greencoat Renewables plc, the Irish-based renewable energy company, on:
  • share placings raising gross proceeds of more than €950 million;
  • its secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange; and
  • its 2024 and 2026 share buyback programmes.
• Datalex on its:
  • 2024 placing and open offer; and
  • transition to private ownership by voluntary cancellation of admission to Euronext Growth and establishment of a matched bargain facility.
• Mainstay Medical on its 2024 financing raising gross proceeds of $125 million.
• Trinseo, on its redomiciliation from Luxembourg to Ireland and the listing of the new Irish holding company, Trinseo PLC, on the NYSE.
• Eaton Corporation on its 2025 $1 billion debt securities offering.
• AIB as lender to Slate Office REIT in connection with its recommended acquisition of Yew Grove REIT.
• The lead investor on Transfermate’s $70 million funding round at a $1 billion valuation.
• Credit Suisse, as sponsor, on Glanbia’s sale of Glanbia Ireland to Tirlán Co-operative Society.
• A number of Irish PLCs on their MAR-compliant share buyback programmes.

Key highlights prior to joining McCann FitzGerald include advising:

• Reliance Industries and its Reliance Retail Ventures unit in connection with capital raisings from PIF, KKR, Silver Lake, Mubadala, General Atlantic and ADIA, amounting to over $5 billion in investments into Reliance Retail Ventures.
• NewMed Energy on its proposed London listing.
• Freeline Therapeutics on its Nasdaq IPO.
• An affiliate of ZQ Capital on its mandatory takeover offer for Allergy Therapeutics and related financing.
• Mayfair Equity Partners on its take-private acquisition of maternity wear company Seraphine.
• Pulsic on its acquisition by Cadence Design Systems.
• Charles Taylor plc on its take-private acquisition by Lovell Minnock Partners.
• Millicom on the IPO and London listing and subsequent block trades of shares in Helios Towers.
• Mereo BioPharma on its Nasdaq IPO and combination with OncoMed Pharmaceuticals.
• Natura Cosméticos on its €1 billion acquisition of The Body Shop from L’Oréal.
• Technip on its combination with FMC to form TechnipFMC and its NYSE/Euronext Paris dual-listing.
• Various investment banks and underwriting syndicates in connection with:
  • the NYSE IPO of Soho House;
  • Hammerson’s £552 million rights issue and Class 1 disposal of its interest in Via Outlets;
  • Compass Group’s £2 billion cash box placing;
  • Informa’s £1 billion cash box placing;
  • Aston Martin’s 2020 rights issue and concurrent placing;
  • EverArc Holding’s SPAC IPO and subsequent follow-on offerings;
  • the demerger of Technip Energies from TechnipFMC
  • Charter Court Financial Services’ London IPO;
  • the aborted London IPO of the Multifamily Housing REIT;
  • the recapitalisation of National Bank of Greece;
  • numerous primary and secondary ABOs of shares for European listed companies;
  • SEC-registered offerings of:
    • shares by PDC Energy; and
    • convertible notes by Aerojet Rocketdyne and OSI Systems; and
  • offerings of debt securities by BMW, Danske Bank, Société Générale, Dexia Crédit Local, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Eastman Chemical Company PDC Energy, Hexion and Bombardier.
• Rolls Royce in connection with the issue of $1.5 billion of debt securities.
• On various liability management transactions, including by General Electric, UBS, National Bank of Greece, Novo Banco, Rio Tinto, Eastman Chemical Company and Gold Fields.