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Chang, Freehills, Blakes in Babcock win over Macquarie
FIRMS LARGE and small were involved in the $7.5 billion bid for energy company Alinta by a consortium including Babcock & Brown and Singapore Power International, announced last week.Alinta…
Lawyers Weekly
FIRMS LARGE and small were involved in the $7.5 billion bid for energy company Alinta by a consortium including Babcock & Brown and Singapore Power International, announced last week.
Alinta has signed a scheme implementation agreement with the consortium and the bid recommendation is subject to no better offer arising, but a break fee of $37.5 million will be payable to the Babcock consortium should a third-party announce a competing proposal and acquire at least 50.1 per cent of Alinta.
Chang, Pistilli & Simmons advised Babcock & Brown along with Freehills,which also advised Singapore Power. Blake Dawson Waldron acted for Alinta, with its team led by partner Marie McDonald and Nick Terry.
Corporate partners Jason Mendens and Danny Simmons led the CP&S team. Their work included negotiating the scheme implementation agreements and drafting associated documents, as well as the consortium arrangements and joint bidding agreements between Singapore Power and Babcock & Brown.
“This transaction involves a portfolio of strategically important assets, requiring a combination of M&A, regulatory and commercial expertise. Freehills and CP&S have worked well together to deliver a strong result,” Mendens said.
He said his firm first became actively involved when the management buyout (MBO) of Alinta was announced in January when Babcock & Brown became interested in Alinta.
Alinta announced on 9 January that John Poynton’s former chairman and a group of four senior executives including the CEO, Bob Browning, were working on a $6 billion MBO of Alinta, advised by Macquarie Bank. Both Poynton and Browning subsequently resigned from Alinta’s board.
Freehills is also advising several Babcock & Brown managed funds that are involved in the consortium’s $15 per share offer. Its team includes Philippa Stone and Baden Furphy. Freehills’ team advising Singapore power are led by Robert Nicholson and James Crowe.
“Babcock & Brown and Singapore Power decided to partner on this transaction because together we have unique capacity to deliver the maximum consideration to Alinta shareholders whilst still delivering value to our own stakeholders,” said Babcock & Brown chief executive Phil Green in a statement.
“Specifically we were able to place the assets into existing businesses of similar scale with strategic or synergistic value for all concerned.”
A meeting of Alinta shareholder’s is due in August to vote on the offer.
