Professional Qualifications

Areas of expertise

Some of Chris' major projects

• Advising banks, financial institutions and major corporates on a range of financing transactions, including syndicated facilities, project finance facilities, acquisition finance facilities and working capital facilities
• Advising banks, financial institutions and major corporates on structured financing transactions, including securitisations and redeemable preference share issues
• Advising and assisting a New Zealand banks and financial institutions with asset financing transactions, including finance and operating leases and cross-border leveraged lease transactions, including a wide range of asset classes
• Advising and assisting a New Zealand bank with the financing of a structured property acquisition and development transaction
• Advising and assisting banks with capital adequacy requirements, including Tier II Capital raising and subordinated parent loans
• Advising and assisting banks with negative pledge deeds, commercial paper and bond programmes and the establishment of a "Registered Certificate of Deposit" programme
• Advising and assisting major corporates with the introduction of new corporate lenders
• Advising the purchaser on the financing of the acquisition of significant shareholdings in Contact Energy Limited
• Advising and assisting in lending programmes to local government authorities and Crown Health Enterprises
• Advising the arranger of a Euro medium term note programme and a Euro commercial paper programme established by the Crown
• Advising banks and corporates on issues relating to compliance with banking related legislation, including the Personal Property Securities Act, the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act, the Securities Act and the Companies Act

• Advising New Zealand and overseas corporates on a wide range of securities law matters, including public offerings, disclosure obligations, offering documents and employee stock option plans
• Advising and assisting major corporates on the establishment of capital note, bond, instalment receipt and stapled securities programmes
• Advising and assisting a New Zealand bank with the offer and quotation of subordinated bonds, including preparing the deed poll and the investment statement
• Advising and assisting the issuer and a promoter with the offer and quotation of capital protected equity linked notes, including preparing the trust deed, the prospectus and the investment statement
• Advising and assisting the issuer and the promoter with successive offers and quotation of residential mortgage backed secured fixed interest rate bonds, including preparing the trust deed, the prospectus and the investment statement and addressing all legal aspects of due diligence and listing
• Assisting New Zealand and overseas corporates with securities law exemption applications
• Preparing the prospectus and investment statement for a major overseas corporate in relation to its public offer of debt securities
• Advising and assisting on a number of public offerings of shares and debt securities, including assisting in the preparation of prospectuses and investment statements

Company Law

• Advising New Zealand and overseas corporates on a wide range of company law issues, including shareholders' rights, directors' duties, takeover offers and disclosure and response obligations
• Advising and assisting in amalgamations, the provision of financial assistance, the issue of redeemable preference shares and major transactions
• Advising numerous New Zealand and overseas corporates on company incorporation and administrative and compliance matters generally
• Advising on a wide range of issues relating to listed companies, including compliance with the Listing Rules of New Zealand Exchange Limited, insider trading and substantial security holder disclosure obligations
• Advising and assisting New Zealand and overseas corporates on take-over offers, including compliance with the requirements of the Takeovers Code and the NZX Listing Rules

Commercial

• Advising overseas corporates on mergers and acquisitions and investments generally in New Zealand
• Advising major corporates on sales and acquisitions of assets and shares in New Zealand, including oil and gas assets
• Advising producer boards on reform and restructuring issues, including the negotiation and establishment of joint venture operations as part of the disestablishment of a leading producer board
• Assisting a leading overseas telecommunications company with the negotiation and establishment of a joint venture in New Zealand and Australia
• Advising on various aspects of intellectual property law, in particular, copyright law
• Advising the statutory managers of a registered bank on its restructuring

• Advising and assisting with the establishment of trusts in respect of which trustee companies act as trustee
• Advising and assisting a number of trustee companies on various matters, including appointments in relation to unit trusts, group investment funds, securitisations, offers of listed debt securities and offers of listed and unlisted units in, and debt securities of, unit trusts

Seminars and publications

• Contributing author for Brookers Insolvency Law and Anderson's Company and Securities Law
• Contributing author for the International Company and Commercial Law Review and the International Insurance Law Review and Capital Asia
• Contributing author for Banks and the Control of Money Laundering and the Regulation of Banking in Asia and the Pacific