ANZ is flushed with capital and for firms on its legal panel, that can only mean good news.
Fresh from advising ANZ on its A$4.7bn capital raising and its foray into the Asian market, Blake Dawson is again advising the bank on its A$1.76bn (US$1.6bn) acquisition of two ING divisions it previously owned a partial stake in through a JV set up in 2002. The deal will hand ANZ the remaining 51% stake in ING’s wealth management and insurance businesses.
Blake Dawson’s lead partner on the deal, John Sartori, said that the deal sees a return of the team that advised in the JV’s formation. “We’ve worked closely with ANZ for many years … assisting ANZ with this particular relationship with ING since the joint venture was established in 2002,” he said. “This deal has been favourably rated by the market, analysts, and the media.”
Clayton Utz, a longstanding counsel to ING, has also been retained to advise on the transaction sale documents, brand transition and ING’s ongoing businesses in Australia. Lead partners Jacqueline Christie and Michael Parshall return to play lead roles on the transaction having also worked on the JV formation and the New Zealand JV in 2005.
Christie said that knowledge of the previous transaction was crucial in the firm’s work on the current deal. “[Previous knowledge of the business] was critical in advising ING on which aspects of the relationship to retain, and which aspects to terminate,” said Christie. “The ING brand is one of the most well-known and respected brands in the world so the discussions around … the ultimate separation of the brand were complex and granular.”
Christie added that along with the deadline there were other challenges in structuring the deal. “While the sale documentation was of paramount importance, some of the more complex aspects of the deal arose from negotiating the ongoing business arrangements between these two ING entities and ING Australia Limited – for example, brand transition and ING Investment Management’s role as preferred provider of investment management services,” added Christie.
Blake Dawson and Russell McVeagh are principle advisors on ANZ's legal panel.
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