Selina Lightfoot
Partner, Melbourne
Phone +61 3 9288 1463
Fax +61 3 9288 1567
selina.lightfoot@freehills.com

Current practice

Selina is a partner in the Corporate group at Freehills. She has broad corporate and commercial experience, including in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, outsourcing, commercial contracts and company law matters generally. Particular areas of industry focus for Selina include telecommunications, life sciences and financial services.

Industry experience

Some examples of Selina’s experience in corporate and commercial work are as follows:

Mergers and acquisitions

  • advising Kmart Tyre & Auto on its purchase of Shell Autoserv
  • advising Telstra subsidiary Sensis on its acquisition of a controlling stake in Adstream
  • advising Orica on various acquisitions, including the Dyno Nobel transaction, its acquisition of the Keith Harris Flavours & Fragrances business, the Woods and Woods food distribution business and its $110 million acquisition of Bronson and Jacobs
  • advising numerous private equity funds on potential acquisitions
  • acting for Ansell Limited in the $750 million sale of its ‘Pacific Brands’ business, and
  • acting for Nortel Networks in the sale of its Australian retail business to 3D Networks, Singapore.

Joint ventures/alliances

  • advising ANZ on a strategic alliance relating to credit cards
  • advising CSIRO, GE Capital, Wesfarmers and other entities on joint ventures or commercialisation projects they have entered with commercial partners, and 
  • acting for Pacific Century Cyberworks in relation to the formation of the ‘Reach Networks’ alliance with Telstra.

Outsourcing / commercial contracts

  • advising Telstra on its outsourcing of mobile device supply to Brightstar
  • advising Coles Myer in respect of its distribution centre arrangements
  • advising Telstra Limited, Coles Myer Limited and others in relation to the terms of their key contracts with suppliers and distributors (including strategic sourcing arrangements, IT licences, toll manufacturing contracts and distribution agreements), and
  • advising on the terms of shared or transitional services arrangements, including for Orica Limited as part of the Dyno Nobel transaction, and GE Capital in relation to its AGC acquisition.

Professional background

Selina joined the firm in January 1998 and was appointed as a partner in 2001. She graduated from the University of Tasmania in 1991 with a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts. In 1999, she completed a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment, with the Securities Institute of Australia.