Allens has been named M&A Legal Adviser of the Year in the Mergermarket M&A Awards 2022, as well as Private Equity Legal Adviser of the Year, Cross-border M&A Legal Adviser of the Year, and Pharmaceuticals, Medical and Biotech M&A Legal Adviser of the Year.
The firm won four of the six awards for which it was shortlisted, and was shortlisted in all but two legal categories.
The awards recognise the best in Australian M&A in FY22, reflecting Mergermarket's league tables for deal value and volume as well as the value added by firms to deal processes, client support, and creative solutions to complex situations.
The Allens' M&A team continue to advise on Australia's largest and most complex public and private M&A transactions, demonstrating the team's strength as one of the leading corporate practices in Australia. Known for its ability to pair market leading technical expertise with sector knowledge, the team aims to put clients in the strongest position possible when executing their strategy. In FY22, some of the most prominent deals on which the firm advised included:
- Sydney Airport on its $32 billion acquisition by the Sydney Aviation Alliance;
- Oil Search on its merger with Santos by way of a Papua New Guinean scheme of arrangement, creating one of the top 20 largest oil and gas companies on a total market capitalisation basis;
- NSW Government on the $11.1 billion sale of its 49 per cent stake in WestConnex to the Transurban consortium;
- AusNet on its $10.2 billion acquisition by a consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management;
- KKR, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board and Public Sector Pension Investment Board on the acquisition of Spark Infrastructure in an all-cash transaction for approximately A$5.2 billion; and
- HRL Morrison & Co and Brookfield Asset Management, and Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation on the $3.4 billion acquisition of Uniti Group Limited by way of scheme of arrangement.
'We are pleased to have been recognised as Australia's premier M&A legal team in these awards, which recognise not only the value and volume of deals, but also the work that goes into them,' said Tom Story, Head of Allens' Corporate Practice.
Attending the event, M&A Partner Vijay Cugati added: 'As always, we are grateful to our clients for entrusting us with their most significant opportunities and challenges, and proud of our teams who work alongside our clients in executing their strategy.'
