While the industry continues to bounce back following the global financial crisis, private equity and venture capital firms face new challenges in their transactions and fund structuring to ensure portfolio growth and successful exit strategies.

Our private equity team has extensive experience assisting Australian and international private equity firms to achieve their investment goals, and includes lawyers with private equity and leveraged finance experience in the UK and US.

We assist clients at all stages of the investment cycle. Our expertise covers a wide range of areas including the establishment of private equity funds, development and expansion, capital investments, MBOs and LBOs. We also advise on the privatisation of publicly listed companies and the acquisition of interests in existing private equity fund portfolios.

Our hands-on specialists can assist with:

  • fund establishment
  • structuring of private equity investments
  • foreign investment advice
  • undertaking legal due diligence on behalf of private equity clients
  • documenting and implementing transactions, including acquisition and investment documentation and schemes of arrangement
  • devising and documenting management incentive plans
  • negotiating and preparing shareholder arrangements
  • structuring and executing on all levels of the debt capital structure, including senior and mezzanine/holdco debt structures.

Experience

Recent matters

Archer Capital

Advised on its acquisition of Dun & Bradstreet (now illion) (2015) as well as its subsequent partial disposal of illion to Macquarie Capital (2020); advised on its proposed acquisition of Funlab (2019); advised on its its acquisition of LCR Group from CHAMP (2014) as well as its its subsequent divestment to Qube (2019); advised on its acquisition of Aerocare from Next Capital (2014) as well as its subsequent divestment of Aerocare to Swissport; advised on its acquisition of Allity (2013).

L Capital/ LCatterton

Advised on its acquisition of RM Williams (2013); advised on its acquisition of Seafolly (2014); advised on its acquisition of 2XU (2013).

Insight Partners

Advised on its acquisition of Linktree (2020); advised on its acquisition of Kumo Holdings (2020); advised on the sale of GCC to Virgin Pulse (an Insight portfolio company) (2016); advised on its acquisition of Campaign Monitor (2014).

Anchorage Capital Partners

Advised on the sale by TJS Services to Anchorage Capital Partners (2017).

Bain Capital

Advised on its proposed indirect acquisition of 80% of the securities of OAC Group (2018) and advised Virgin Group on its co-investment in the Bain consortium bid into Virgin Australia airlines (2020).

Battery Ventures

Advised on the acquisition of stake in Learnosity (2018); advised on the acquisition of PageUp from its founders, Accel-KKR Growth Capital Partners and Accel-KKR Members Fund (2019).

Baygrove Capital and Lineage Logistics

Advised on Australian aspects of its acquisition of Emergent Cold as well as its acquisition of five cold storage facilities from Blackstone (2020) .

Brookfield

Advised on its acquisition of ENE.HUB (2018).

JMI Equity

Advised on its acquisition of Serraview Holdings (2018).

Liverpool Partners

Advised on its acquisition of Seisma (formerly Melbourne IT Consulting, a division of PS&C Limited) (2020) and bolt-on acquisition of Infrastructure Brokers (2020).

Marlin Equity

Advised on its acquisition of HotSchedules (formerly RedBook) (2019).

Matrix Capital Partners

Advised on its PIPE investment into Afterpay (ASX:APT) (2018).

Partners Group

Advised on the acquisition of Pharmaceutical Packaging by PCI Pharma (a Partners portfolio company) (2018).

Potentia Capital

Advised on the acquisition of Micromine (2018); advised on the acquisition of PC- Eftpos (2019); and bolt-on acquisition of Premier Technologies (2020); and advised on the acquisition of CommerceVision (2021).

Quadrant Private Equity

Advised on the sale by Canberra Data Centres to Quadrant (2014).

ROC Partners

Advised on the sale by Macquarie Group of its private markets business to ROC Partners (2014).

SK Capital

Advised on its acquisition of Tasmanian Alkaloids (2016).

People

Recognition

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