Our experience stretches back to advising the private equity syndicate that backed the public to private management buy out of the Just Jeans Group (the first private equity backed listed company acquisition in Australia in over a decade). More recently we have been involved in bids involving a private equity firm partnering with a trade buyer to make the purchase (eg Tempo Services) and in proposals for private equity funds to joint venture with listed entities (eg Seven Network and KKR, Flight Centre and Pacific Equity Partners).
We pride ourselves on our strategic thinking and our technical ability to ensure optimal deal execution. We have developed market leading precedents and processes to integrate the four main streams of activity being: due diligence and acquisition, leveraged finance, consortium arrangements, and management equity participation.
M&A Law Firm of the Year 2006
Australian Law Awards
Highest number and value of announced and completed M&A deals 2004, 2005 and 2006
Thomson Financial M&A League Tables Australia and New Zealand
Practical Law Company’s 2007 Which Lawyer Yearbook ranked Al Donald as one of the two leading private equity lawyers in Australia.
Nick Wormald is one of only two lawyers in Australia named in the International Financial Law Review’s 2006 global listing of 25 leading private equity lawyers.
Experience – public to private buy-outs
- advised Seven Network on its $4 billion media joint venture with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (Damien Hazard, Partner and Fiona Gardiner-Hill, Partner)
- advised DCA Group on its acquisition by CVC Asia Pacific and CVC Capital Partners (Stephen Dobbs, Partner and Philip Podzebenko, Partner)
- advised the Founder members of the bidding consortium, who hold 57 per cent of Flight Centre, on its proposed $1.6 billion public to private proposal for Flight Centre (Tony Damian, Partner)
- advised Catalyst on the buy-out of Just Jeans, the first public to private management buy-out in Australia (Nick Wormald, Partner and Peter Dunne, Partner)
- advised Newbridge Capital as a member of the Airline Partners Australia consortium’s offer to acquire Qantas Airways (Baden Furphy, Partner)
- advised Archer Capital on its $369 million purchase of Rebel Sport by scheme of arrangement (Al Donald, Partner and Rebecca Maslen-Stannage, Partner)
- advised DB Capital Partners on its $210 million public to private buy out of Tempo Services by way of scheme of arrangement (Kon Mellos, Partner).
Experience – management and leveraged buy-outs
- advised Newbridge Capital on its $1.4 billion acquisition of Myer from Coles Myer (Baden Furphy, Partner and Kon Mellos, Partner)
- advised Pacific Equity Partners on its acquisition of Godfreys (Al Donald, Partner and Damien Hazard, Partner)
- advised Catalyst on its acquisition of AEP Industries (Peter Dunne, Partner)
- advised Gresham Private Equity on its acquisition of Witchery Fashions (Al Donald, Partner and Brendan Earle, Partner)
- advised ABN Amro Capital, CHAMP and Investec Wentworth Private Equity on their purchase of the Priceline retail business (Nick Wormald, Partner and Andrew Clyne, Partner)
- advised Pacific Equity Partners on its acquisition of Vision Systems fire and security business (Damien Hazard, Partner and Al Donald, Partner)
- advised Archer Capital on its acquisition of Paradise Foods (Al Donald, Partner)
- advised Archer Capital on its acquisition and subsequent disposal of 50 per cent of John West to Simplot Australia (Damien Hazard, Partner and Al Donald, Partner).
Key contacts
Al Donald – Sydney
Mark Crean – Sydney
Nick Wormald – Melbourne
Kon Mellos – Melbourne