I am passionate about public merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions involving takeover bids and schemes of arrangement and have worked on some of Australia's most complex and high-profile public M&A transactions in recent times. 

Career highlights

• Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Holdings Limited – advised on responding to competing takeover offers from Bega Cheese (hostile), Saputo (recommended) and Murray Goulburn (unsolicited). This was one of the most vigorous auctions for control in recent Australian corporate history, with three bidders making nine bids. Saputo’s winning bid valued the company at about $530 million
• Hitachi Construction Machinery – advised on its successful $976.1 million takeover bid for Bradken Limited in 2017. This involved careful consideration of Bradken’s complex capital and debt structure, as well as legal due diligence and foreign regulatory conditions as Bradken has substantial business operations outside Australia. Creative strategies were devised to speed up acceptance momentum in the face of a heavily conditional offer
• Jangho Group– advised on its $200 million takeover offer for ASX-listed Vision Eye Institute Limited in 2015, including due diligence, acquisition of a 19.99% pre bid stake from Primary Health Care Limited, negotiation of the implementation agreement with Vision, preparation of the bidder’s statement to Vision shareholders, the compulsory acquisition process, and devising new incentive and retention arrangements for Vision’s doctors
• SMEC – advised on its response to the ‘friendly’ takeover offer by Surbana Jurong (a subsidiary of Temasek, the Singaporean state investment group) in 2016. The takeover was structured as a scheme of arrangement and valued SMEC at $451 million
• Dun & Bradstreet Corporation– advised on the disposal of its Australian and New Zealand business operations to private equity firm Archer Capital for $220 million in 2015

Education
LLB (HONS) (BRISTOL, 1998); BARRISTER AT LAW (MIDDLE TEMPLE) (CARDIFF, 1999); ADMITTED TO PRACTICE IN VICTORIA AND MALAYSIA

• Federal Court and NSW Supreme Court recent reforms for scheme applications – what you need to know
  

  Recent reforms by the Federal Court and NSW Supreme Court for scheme applications outline the new practice across first and second court hearings, the issues to be determined, how the NSW Supreme Court guidance differs to the Federal Court reforms and where to next.

• MinterEllison acts for iconic South Australian dairy processing company, B.-d. Farm Paris Creek
  

  MinterEllison has acted for Paris Creek, an iconic South Australian organic dairy processor and manufacturer, which was acquired for $43.0m (on an enterprise value basis).

• Standstills in public M&A deals – “No Standing” zone or "Clearway"?
  

  Two recent Takeovers Panel decisions have placed the spotlight on the use of standstills in control transactions for ASX listed targets. We unpack the implications.