Professional Qualifications

Areas of expertise

• Advised Allied Farmers on its NZ$400 million acquisition of the loan assets of Hanover Finance and United Finance in exchange for new Allied shares, involving shareholder and debentureholder approvals, the issue of a prospectus for the new shares and compliance by Allied Farmers with all Securities Act and NZX requirements
• Advised Shell International on its NZ$4 billion purchase of Fletcher Energy, involving significant due diligence, use of a scheme of arrangement and the issue of new securities in multiple jurisdictions (USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand)
• Advised New Zealand Oil & Gas Limited on various transactions including a scheme of arrangement, a takeover offer and the offer of options to Australian and NewZealand shareholders
• Advised New Zealand Rugby Union on the establishment of Rugby New Zealand 2011 Limited as a joint venture with the Crown formed to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup
• Has advised Mitsubishi Motors NZ Limited since 1997 on a range of commercial matters, as its principal advisor, including operation and subsequent winding up of its employee superannuation scheme
• Advised Cheung Kong Infrastructure and Hong Kong Electric (CKI/HEI) on their combined NZ$1.5 billion bid for the electricity distribution assets owned by Aquilla Inc in New Zealand. The company, United Networks Limited, was publicly listed and majority owned by Aquilla.

• Advises Grosvenor Financial Services Limited on all aspects of the established and ongoing compliance of its client advisory network and the development of new investment products

• Advised Pike River Coal Ltd on its $100m capital raising in 2008 incorporating a NZ$60m rights issue in New Zealand and Australia and a US$30m convertible bond issue

• Advised Cheung Kong Infrastructure and Hong Kong Electric (CKI/HEI) on their combined NZ$1.5 billion bid for the electricity distribution assets owned by Aquilla Inc in New Zealand. The company, United Networks Limited, was publicly listed and majority owned by Aquilla. The bid required advice to CKI/HEI on all aspects of a public company takeover as a compliant offer document was submitted with the final bid. CKI/HEI were an unsuccessful bidder
• Advised CVC Capital Partners on the New Zealand portion of its AU$800 million purchase of the Pacific Brands division of Pacific Dunlop (in conjunction with Minter Ellison who acted on the Australian component of the transaction)

• Advised Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd and Todd Energy Limited in relation to all aspects of renegotiation of energy supply contracts for their Whareroa Co-generation Plant including gas purchase agreements, gas transmission, electricity and steam supply agreements and associated agreements
• Advised NGC Holdings Limited on its NZ$900 million purchase of a majority shareholding in TransAlta New Zealand Limited by way of private treaty
• Advised Shell (Petroleum Mining) Company on the sale of its gas entitlement from the Pohokura gas field
• Advises Maui Mining Companies on the sale of ROFA gas supplies, being additional volumes of gas available from the Maui gas field, involving sale of in excess of $1 billion of gas

Seminars and publications