Corporate/M&A
Asia-Pacific Guide 2024 : Australia
Band 2
About
Provided by Clayton Utz
Clayton Utz's Corporate & M&A team stands as a cornerstone practice group, consistently advising on major transactions across Australia and internationally. The partners, have experience in public and private M&A (including obtaining FIRB approvals and ASX and ASIC waivers relevant to mergers or acquisitions), joint ventures, executing and defending takeover bids, implementing agreed mergers by scheme of arrangement, IPOs, and general corporate and commercial contracts and advisory. The team has a strong proficiency in collaborating productively with crucial corporate regulatory bodies such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), and the Takeovers Panel. This ensures seamless engagement and compliance throughout the entirety of our clients' transactions, safeguarding their interests and enhancing the efficiency of the process.
Chambers Review
Clayton Utz maintains an exceptional offering of skills across Australia and is well equipped due to its close relationships with international firms to represent offshore clients on inbound mandates. The firm is prominent in the energy and resources and financial services sectors and widely acknowledged for its excellent handling of interactions with state and Commonwealth government agencies. It is also strong on private equity matters and able to draw on capabilities in related areas such as capital markets, investment funds and tax to provide a comprehensive offering for private equity firms. The firm is additionally noted for its ability to provide the fullest suite of supporting disciplines, particularly where assistance with the navigation of the regulatory environment is concerned. It is proficient on both the bidder and target sides of public M&A transactions as well as global joint ventures. Prominent clients include Brookfield Corporation, Olympus Corporation and Senex Energy.
Work Highlights
- Clayton Utz advised Kirkland Lake Gold on its merger of equals with Agnico Eagle Mines.
Strengths
Provided by Chambers
"Clayton Utz will always return the call and be thoughtful in their critique or analysis of issues."
"They apply excellent commercial judgement, identify key issues and provide good suggestions on how to navigate them."
"They have top-quality senior partners who are very hands-on and take leadership and accountability."
"Clayton Utz will always return the call and be thoughtful in their critique or analysis of issues."
"They apply excellent commercial judgement, identify key issues and provide good suggestions on how to navigate them."
"They have top-quality senior partners who are very hands-on and take leadership and accountability."
Notable Practitioners
Rod Halstead has advised leading companies on a comprehensive range of corporate transaction types for over 30 years and continues to provide strategic insights acquired during this period to several of Clayton Utz's current clients. He is based in Sydney.
Niro Ananda, based in Sydney, acts for domestic and international private equity clients across the full range of private equity acquisitions and divestments.
"Niro is very actively engaged with us, always extremely responsive, sometimes even to unreasonable time frames, and is good at problem-solving."
"Niro is our preferred legal counsel for the majority of our transactions due to his high quality of advice and strong commercial judgement."
Rory Moriarty is the Sydney-based head of Clayton Utz's combined corporate, M&A and capital markets practice. He stands out for his extensive experience of a variety of domestic and cross-border transaction types and is also well equipped to advise authoritatively on their regulatory implications.
"Rory Moriarty is very calm, a highly commercial M&A lawyer, and is able to defuse most situations."
Andrew Walker has practised in the corporate space for nearly 30 years and is a well-regarded figure in the Melbourne market who often advises in relation to substantial corporate acquisitions, takeovers and divestments. He counts both leading Australian companies and major international corporates among his clients.
"Andrew is a superb adviser, balanced and experienced, highly accessible and always looking for solutions to move matters forward."
"He combines technical excellence with market savvy and strives to be fully up to date with developments. His particular strength is knowing how regulators will be likely to think and react."
Jonathan Algar, who is based in Sydney, advises ASX-listed and international organisations on a variety of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and IPOs, and also draws on over 20 years' experience in the corporate space to advise across a broad range of strategic issues.
"Jonathan has looked after numerous matters and is completely professional, providing great comfort that the transaction will be in the best hands."
Ranked Lawyers at
Clayton Utz
Australia
Members
Provided by Clayton Utz
Andrew Hay
Ben Cansdale
Brendan Groves
David Walkie
Geoff Hoffman
Hiroyuki Kano
Hugh Brolsma
Katy Warner
Kylie de Oliveira
Liz Humphry
Mark Geritz
Mark Pagamin
Matt Anderson
Michael Linehan
Samy Mansour
Stephan Neale
Stephanie Daveson
Head of Department
Stuart Byrne
Stuart MacGregor
Susan Taylor
Industries
Provided by Clayton Utz
Energy & Resources
Financial & Insurance Services
Government
Government
Health
Media & Technology
Telecommunications
Transport & Logistics