MinterEllisonRuddWatts’ performance on New Zealand’s most significant transactions and its reputation for excellent commercial advice, has been again recognised in this year’s Australasian Law Awards.
The Australasian Law Awards recognise leading law firms and in-house teams in Australia and New Zealand for their outstanding achievements.
A finalist for New Zealand Deal Firm of the Year, highlights the firm’s legal acumen and expertise in delivering excellent commercial outcomes for its clients. The number and complexities of the deals handled by the team during 2019 was outstanding, within an array of industries.
Corporate partners Silvana Schenone and Mark Forman have been named as individual finalists for the New Zealand Dealmaker of the Year category.
Leading the firm’s Corporate Division, Silvana Schenone is sought after by blue chip and international clients for her pragmatic, yet relentless approach to deal making. Silvana had another outstanding year, advising on Froneri’s acquisition of Tip Top, Youi on the sale of its insurance portfolio to Tower, and US based Verifone on its deal with Smartpay. Silvana also acted for Spark on the sale of Lightbox to Sky TV and represented a significant overseas party on its investment in Soul Machines.
Corporate Partner and firm board member Mark Forman is a leading dealmaker in New Zealand with large local and international corporates seeking his expertise in complex transactions. Mark is regarded by many leading investment bankers as their go-to lawyer and is a renowned expert in forestry, media, transport and healthcare transactions.
His 2019 deal highlights include advising Next Capital on its acquisition of NZ Bus from Infratil, Ngai Tahui and Tainui on the sale of Go Bus (New Zealand’s largest privately-owned bus operator), MediaWorks on its merger with the NZ arm of QMS Media forming a NZ$300m+ media business, and Brookfield on the New Zealand aspects of its NZ$4b+ acquisition of Healthscope.
The winners of the Australasian Law Awards are due to be announced later in the year.
