UPFRONT
TRANSACTIONS Acquisition of Pioneer Australia Seeds from DuPont Pioneer A Harmos Horton Lusk team led by Tim Michelson has advised Philip Yates Family Holdings on its acquisition of Pioneer Australia Seeds from New York-listed DuPont Pioneer. Pioneer Australia Seeds, which was renamed GenTech Seeds following the acquisition, includes the production, sales, marketing and distribution of corn, sorghum and conola in Australia. Philip Yates Family Holdings has distributed Pioneer products in New Zealand for a number of years. Philip Yates Family Holdings managing director William Yates said Pioneer was “a natural fit that will allow us to extend our commitment to provide farmers with the very best seed genetics and related services in the years to come”.
Transaction
Value (NZ$)
www.nzlawyermagazine.co.nz
Client
Lead lawyer(s)
Additional firms involved
Carve-out of Toops Wholesale Limited's Wellington wholesale grocery and merchandise business from Foodstuffs North Island Limited and sale to Wellington Wholesale Foods Limited The Dow Chemical Company and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (joint instruction) Joint instruction on competition filing for Fairfax/NZME merger Implementation of Fairfax/NZME merger Sale of Tasman Bay Forests Company's timberlands and related assets New Zealand Superannuation Fund’s underwritten block trade in Z Energy Marlborough Wine Estates Group NXT listing Issue of ANZ Capital Securities
Undisclosed DLA Piper New Zealand
Foodstuffs North Island Limited
Martin Wiseman Succeed Legal
US$130bn
Dow Chemical Company and DuPont
Sarah Keene
Undisclosed Russell McVeagh Undisclosed Russell McVeagh $370m Russell McVeagh
Fairfax and NZME
Sarah Keene, Tim Clarke Pip Greenwood
Chapman Tripp
Tasman Bay Forests Company
David Raudkivi
Chapman Tripp
$291m
Russell McVeagh
Pip Greenwood
$58m
Duncan Cotterill Russell McVeagh
Acquisition of a 34% stake in Mitsubishi by Nissan
JPY237bn
Acquisition of Academic Colleges Group by Pacific Equity Partners
Undisclosed Russell McVeagh
HRL Morrison & Co, Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation Marlborough Wine Estates Group Limited Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited Nissan Motor Co. Ltd/Mitsubishi Motor Corporation Pacific Equity Partners
Chapman Tripp
AUB Group NZ Limited
Tim Williams, Phoebe Gibbons
Chapman Tripp (in relation to New Zealand aspects of the deal) Chapman Tripp
LP Group BV (a consortium of long-term investors)
Tim Williams, Linklaters Phoebe Gibbons
Vista Group International Limited
John Strowger
Chapman Tripp
Augusta Capital
Pip England
US$1bn
AUB Group NZ Limited’s acquisition $35m (postof 100% shareholding in Runacres completion and Associates Limited adjustment undisclosed) LP Group BV’s acquisition of a EUR3.7bn 100% shareholding in LeasePlan Corporation NV (resulting in an indirect acquisition of LeasePlan New Zealand Limited) Vista selldown by founder $100m shareholders of part of their escrowed equity Augusta’s purchase and $70m $70m capital raise for Building A, 4 Graham Street 14
Adviser
Russell McVeagh
Russell McVeagh
Fairfax and NZME
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Matt Yates Fred Ward
Sarah Keene, David Hoare David Hoare
Latham & Watkins, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto Chapman Tripp, DFDL Vietnam and DFDL Indonesia (in association with Mararam Partners) Webb Henderson