The transaction marks the Blackstone private equity team's first disposal in Australia.
Ashurst advised on the breadth of the transaction, including undertaking vendor legal due diligence, advising on transaction structuring and the sale process generally, advising on various regulatory approvals, negotiating and finalising the transaction documents and procuring buy-side warranty and indemnity insurance, as well as advising on an innovative use of environmental liability insurance.
The Ashurst team was led by corporate partner Mark Stanbridge, with support from partners Murray Wheater and Stuart Dullard, and assisted by senior associate Simon Vose, and lawyers Lauren Garrett, Rory McLeod, Ben Lyttle and Sharon Liu. Teams in Singapore and Glasgow were led by partner Simon Brown and head of legal analyst services Iain Brown, assisted by counsel Cheryl Ang, associate Zak Worrall, and legal analyst managers Mark McAuley and Catherine Teenan. Employment advice was provided by partner Jennie Mansfield and senior associate Peter McNulty, with partner Con Tzerefos and senior associate Jared Lynch advising on superannuation matters. Partner Diane Skapinker, assisted by counsel Vicki Aron and lawyer Robyn Dimis advised on the real estate aspects of the transaction. Finance advice was provided by partner Shawn Wytenburg and lawyer Rebecca Dang. Partner Mark Brennan, assisted by senior associate Guy Dwyer and lawyer Tristan Orgill advised on environmental matters, and counsel Brett Elgar advised on the work, health and safety aspects. Tax advice was provided by partner Sanjay Wavde and counsel Paul Glover, with partner Anita Cade and senior associate Maria Sun advising on the IP aspects of the transaction. Competition advice was provided by partner Ross Zaurrini and senior associate Tihana Zuk, and partner Rehana Box and lawyer Alex Nash advised on insurance matters. Funds partner Lisa Simmons and disputes partners Ross McClymont, Wen-Ts'ai Lim and Mark Elvy, and senior associates Michael Murray and Jason Strachan also advised.
This follows on from Ashurst advising Blackstone on its A$750 million acquisition of Ixom, formerly Orica Limited's non-mining chemicals business, from Orica Limited in 2014. Over the last four years, Blackstone and the management shareholders have established Ixom as a successful standalone business operating amongst the leading infrastructure businesses supplying and distributing water treatment chemicals, as well as industrial and speciality chemicals.
