In particular, he specialises in advising on investments in real assets (such as real estate, agribusiness and infrastructure) through the establishment of incorporated and unincorporated joint ventures, consortia, capital partnerships and strategic platforms, pooled vehicles and wholesale funds with a real asset focused investment mandate as well as on the acquisition, disposal and restructuring of real assets held through corporate or trust vehicles (including undertaking due diligence).

Wissam has advised and implemented cross border transactions for foreign clients investing in the Australian real asset market, which is experiencing strong demand from both domestic and foreign investors. In particular, he has strong experience in advising foreign clients on partnering with local managers and on any foreign investment approval or foreign registration required.

Wissam advises listed property trusts, real estate funds, sovereign wealth and pension funds, real asset institutional investors, real estate advisory groups and major real estate owners, developers and operators such as Dexus, Mirvac, Investa, Ping An Real Estate, Wee Hur Group,Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, Ivanhoe Cambridge, Mercer Investments, Pamoja Capital, Commercial & General, Cushman & Wakefield, Bain Capital, Only About Children, Metrics Partners and Arrow Partners.

Career highlights

• Advised Urbanest on the A$2 billion sale of its purpose-built accommodation business and property portfolio to Scape Australia
• Advised Dexus on its acquisition of a majority ownership interest in Atlassian’s $1.8 billion new headquarters in Sydney and the joint venture arrangements with Atlassian.
• Advised Dexus on its A$1.476 billion acquisition of the 80 Collins precinct, Melbourne from QIC
• Advised Wee Hur group on the proposed sale of a 49.9% stake in a $1.1 billion 'as complete' purpose-built student accommodation portfolio with assets in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra to a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund
• Advised a bidder in relation to the competitive sale process by Blackstone of the $3.8 billion Milestone industrial portfolio
• Advised Ping An Real Estate on the establishment of a joint venture with Lendlease and Mitsubishi Estate Asia and the acquisition of a 50% interest in Circular Quay Tower, consisting of a premium-grade office tower and public facilities with an aggregate value of $1.5 billion
• Advised US-based global asset manager Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) on the acquisition of substantial interests in various prime A Grade retail and office assets in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria valued over $800 million and the establishment of a strategic joint venture with the Mirvac Group with a core office mandate
• Advised on the establishment of the Dexus Healthcare Property Fund (including the acquisition of the Calvary Hospital seed asset in Adelaide) and also advised on the subsequent sale of the $460 million Australian Bragg Centre to Dexus Healthcare Property Fund, being a 15 storey building in Adelaide's BioMed precinct and which includes the first and only proton therapy unit in Australia.
• Advised Ivanhoe Cambridge, the real estate arm of a Canadian pension fund, in relation to the acquisition of a 25% interest in Liberty Place, Sydney
• Advised Investa on the sale of a 25% interest in 400 George Street, Sydney to M&G group and Mirvac (as manager for CIC)
• Advised Mercer Investments on the acquisition of a 25% interest in 420 George Street, Sydney from Lend Lease and the establishment of a joint venture with the Investa group

Education
BCOM, LLB (UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY), LLM (UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY)

• MinterEllison advises on sale of landmark clinical and medical research facility
  

  The deal represents a milestone for Australia's cancer treatment capability, with the facility housing the only proton therapy unit in the Southern Hemisphere.

• MinterEllison advising Wee Hur on part sale of PBSA Master Trust
  

  MinterEllison is advising Perpetual (Asia) Limited as trustee for Wee Hur PBSA Master Trust (PBSA Master Trust) on the proposed sale of a 49.9% stake in the PBSA Master Trust to a global institutional investor (Investor). The transaction is due to be completed over a number of settlement stages.

• MinterEllison advises Bain Capital and Only About Children on acquisition of Little Learning School
  

  Bain Capital, through its majority-held subsidiary Only About Children, has acquired the Little Learning School business including 20 childcare centres.

• Urbanest deal completion defies COVID-19 complexity: MinterEllison
  

  The recent, successful close of 2019's largest property deal between Urbanest and Scape Australia, shows how business is adapting to working in the current COVID-19 environment.

• MinterEllison acts on Australia’s first proton therapy unit to be headquartered in Adelaide
  

  Australia’s first proton therapy unit to be headquartered in Adelaide