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Lauren Archer

Lauren Archer

Special Counsel Mātanga Ture

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Lauren is a corporate and commercial lawyer with more than 15 years’ experience advising on mergers and acquisitions, overseas investment, joint ventures, capital raising and complex commercial arrangements. She has advised New Zealand and international companies, investors and shareholders on transactions across sectors including energy, infrastructure, forestry, technology, financial services, aged care and retirement villages.

Clients engage Lauren when a transaction is complex, strategically important or subject to regulatory scrutiny. She helps them assess legal and commercial risk, structure the transaction and work through negotiations, approvals and completion. Her experience is particularly valuable where a matter involves multiple stakeholders, overseas investment requirements, significant due diligence or tight timeframes.

Her transactional experience spans acquisitions, divestments and investments from the early stages through to completion. This includes managing legal due diligence, identifying issues that may affect value or execution, and drafting and negotiating transaction documents. She also advises on private equity investments, capital raising, corporate governance and the establishment of joint ventures and limited partnership structures.

A significant part of Lauren’s practice involves New Zealand’s overseas investment regime. She advises clients on whether consent is required, develops application strategies and guides them through the consent process, including for investments involving forestry, infrastructure and other sensitive New Zealand assets.

She also has particular experience in the renewable energy, carbon and energy infrastructure sectors, including transactions involving battery storage, electric vehicle charging, green hydrogen and forestry investment structures. In the aged care and retirement village sector, her work includes acquisitions, divestments, roll-up transactions and associated structuring and funding arrangements.

Lauren takes a pragmatic and commercially focused approach, explaining complex issues clearly and providing practical advice that helps clients make decisions and keep transactions moving. The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific recognises her as a Leading Associate in Corporate and M&A, with one client describing her as “highly knowledgeable and always accessible”.

She is also a co-author of LexisNexis Practical Business Law.

Career highlights

Led the team advising NZ Aged Care Services on its roll up of multiple aged care facilities and retirement villages, associated capital raising and subsequent sale to Heritage Lifecare.

Advised Datacom on its acquisition of the T4 Data Centre, including leading due diligence, transaction structuring and drafting and negotiating the business sale agreement and other transaction documents.

Supported Dai-ichi Life with its NZD1.1 billion acquisition of Partners Life. Assisted with legal due diligence, transaction documentation, regulatory approvals and warranty and indemnity insurance arrangements. Worked through a complex shareholder structure involving more than 240 ultimate security holders and coordinated key transaction requirements across multiple jurisdictions through to completion.

Advised the shareholders of a New Zealand technology company on its sale to an international purchaser. Led negotiations with overseas counsel and guided the transaction through signing and completion, navigating differing New Zealand and United States market practices and commercial terms.

Advised Eku Energy on its initial New Zealand investment in utility-scale battery storage and the acquisition of a 300 MW battery energy storage project, including transaction structuring, land access, overseas investment approvals and regulatory considerations.

Advising Pan Pac Forest Products on multiple overseas investment consent applications, including New Zealand’s first forestry standing consent under the Overseas Investment Act, supporting its ongoing investment in forestry assets.

Advising Todd Corporation and Nova Energy on their investment in the Kapuni Green Hydrogen Project, including structuring and negotiating of complex multi-party commercial arrangements to support investment in low-emissions infrastructure.

Supported the founding shareholders of Pinnacle Group with the sale of 23 companies to Qube. Assisted with extensive vendor due diligence, preparation and negotiation of the share sale agreement and related transaction documents. Worked on the related two-stage acquisition of the remaining interest in another logistics business through to completion.

Affiliations
  • Member, Wellington Women's Law Association
Achievements and recognition
  • Leading Associate, Corporate and M&A, The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific
  • Recognised team, Corporate/Commercial, Chambers Asia-Pacific