Widely renowned for their experience and pragmatism, our private equity and venture capital specialists are experts in their field. Our team provides strategic advice to major New Zealand, Australian, and international private equity (PE) funds and venture capital (VC) clients on their fundraising activities, investments, acquisitions, and divestments. We also regularly assist owners of New Zealand businesses and other stakeholders on their dealings with PE and VC funds.
Our wide-ranging experience provides a thorough understanding of the PE/VC landscape and the factors that contribute to a successful transaction. We frequently act on all areas of PE and VC arrangements, from fundraising to exit strategies.
As part of the MinterEllison Legal Group, our network of offices in New Zealand and Australia, as well as Asia and the UK, enables us to provide a full range of legal services on a global scale. Our PE/VC specialists work collaboratively across the firm, with other advisers and many law firms around the world to ensure a successful outcome for our clients. This provides us with an advantage when navigating complex transactions that require international or multi-jurisdictional considerations.
How we help
- Fundraising
- Financing
- Acquisition structuring
- Investments and divestments
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Warranty and indemnity insurance
- Takeovers
- Initial public offerings (IPOs)
- Foreign investment laws, including Overseas Investment Office (OIO) approvals
- Financial and debt structuring advice
- Restructuring
- Exit strategies
They formed an extremely collaborative commercially minded team that delivered an outstanding outcome. Forthright, sanguine and delivering clear advice, saw the team making an invaluable contribution to the transaction.
Philippa Weston, Investment Director, Pencarrow Private Equity
Recent highlights – Private equity
Macquarie Group
Advising Macquarie Group on the New Zealand aspects of its acquisition of AMP Capital’s Global Equities and Fixed Income business.
Pencarrow Private Equity
Advising Pencarrow Private Equity and the other shareholders of MMC on the sale of that business to Apex (having also advised the founders of MMC in respect of Pencarrow’s initial investment and MMC on its acquisition of Aegis from ASB).
Advent Capital Partners
Advising Advent Partners, one of Australia’s longest standing private equity firms, on its investments into New Zealand, including its recent investments into Flintfox International Limited (2020) and Integrated Control Technology Limited (2022).
Tanarra Capital
Acted for Tanarra Capital backed Global Marketplace on its acquisition of Grab One from NZME in 2021.
Allegro Funds
Advising Australian private equity firm Allegro Funds on its investments into New Zealand, including its recent acquisition of Toll Global Express business in New Zealand, and the sale of the Carpet Court NZ business.
NZ Equity Partners
Advising NZEP on its investments into HazardCo, Contract Mechanical Services and Traffic Safe.
Next Capital
Advised Next Capital on its sale of 100% of the shares in NZB Holdco Limited (the owner of the NZ Bus business in New Zealand) to Kinetic NZ Holdings Limited (owner of the Go-Bus business).
Brookfield Asset Management
Acting for Healthscope and Brookfield on the $550m plus sale of Healthscope’s NZ pathology business.
Multi-Color Corporation
Advising Multi-Color Corporation, a global label solutions company backed by Platinum Equity Partners, on its acquisition of Hexagon Holdings Limited, a holding company for independent New Zealand and Australian label manufacturing businesses.
Caldic B.V.
Advising Caldic B.V., a lifestyle solutions/specialty chemicals business entity based in the Netherlands and owned by Goldman Sachs Private Equity, on its acquisition of Scott Chemicals, a leading chemical manufacturer and distributor in Australasia and Asia.
Certares Opportunities and Knighthead Capital Management
Advising the main equity investors, Certares Opportunities and Knighthead Capital Management, who (along with other third parties) were the successful bidders in an auction bid process to take Hertz out of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, on the NZ aspects of the transaction.
Recent highlights – Venture capital
Alt Ventures Limited
Advising Alt Ventures Limited on various deals for its dedicated gaming industry fund, AV Gaming Opportunities Fund 1 LP. This included investments in gaming companies Usual Suspects Studios Limited, Mad Carnival Entertainment Limited, Untamed Isles Limited / Phat Loot Studios Limited, Elytra Limited, and November Games Limited.
Advising Alt Ventures Limited on its investment in Storbie Limited (through its first venture capital fund, AV Seed Opportunities Fund 1 LP). Alt Ventures led the oversubscribed $2.3m investment round which was joined by other investors (including Icehouse Ventures and prominent business leaders in the pharmacy and veterinary sectors).
Nuance Capital Limited
Advising Nuance Connected Capital 1 LP (a NZ venture capital fund focused on investing in deep tech, science and innovation) on its investments into various portfolio companies including Zenno Astronautics Limited, UBCO and Easy Crypto.
Pacific Channel
Advising Pacific Channel with several equity investments into New Zealand deep tech companies. These include investments in: Vortex Power Systems Limited (which is developing a system to capture and convert waste heat energy into electrical energy through the use of a vortex and power generation turbine); TasmanIon Limited (which develops aluminium ion battery technology); Cetogenix Limited (which develops technology that breaks down waste product to generate renewable energy); Tectonus Limited (which develops earthquake protection solutions); Nanobubble Agritech Limited (which uses integrated nanobubble technology to improve plant growth and soil health in the agricultural sector); Insitugen Limited (which is developing technology to detect the anabolic drugs in animals, people and supplements).
Recent highlights - Fundraising
Private equity funds establishment
Advising on the establishment of private equity funds, including funds for Pioneer Capital (5 funds, including a new private debt fund), Milford (2 funds), Continuity Capital (3 funds with a fund-of-funds, secondaries, model), Craigs, Origin Capital (kiwifruit industry), and The Professionals Club.
Venture capital funds establishment
Advising on the establishment of venture capital funds, including funds for Nuance Capital, Pacific Channel, WNT Capital, Icehouse Ventures, Movac, New Ground Capital, Phase One Ventures and Alt Ventures.
Advising fund investors
Advising significant cornerstone and other investors in PE and VC funds managed by Movac, Direct Capital, Waterman, Pencarrow, Quadrant and others.
Specialist fund advice
Advising other PE/VC fund management teams in New Zealand and overseas in relation to specialist areas including cross-border offers, cryptocurrency, and climate change investment, and on team restructuring, carried interest and other arrangements.
Recent highlights - Financing
Competitive debt processes
Appointed by Sponsors and/or their debt advisors to act for their financiers following competitive debt processes (including, for example, on BNZ’s financing of Waterman Capital’s acquisition of Farro Fresh, ASB’s financing of Pioneer Capital’s acquisition (together with NZ Super) of the Bluelabs Group, and Westpac’s financing of Pioneer Capital’s acquisition of Coffee Supreme).
Next Capital transactions
Advising Next Capital on the financings and subsequent debt restructurings of its investments in New Zealand, including most recently for the Hirepool Group and the New Zealand Bus Group.
Pencarrow Private Equity
Advising Pencarrow on all aspects of financing their acquisition of Aegis from ASB. This acquisition was funded solely by debt and, following a competitive debt process, was funded using a uni-tranche debt structure.
