10 Deal nominations for Russell McVeagh ahead of NZ Law Awards

Russell McVeagh is pleased to have been announced an Excellence Awardee (Finalist) in seven award categories ahead of this year's NZ Law Awards, including Large Law Firm of the Year and Employer of Choice (>100 lawyers).

The firm acted on ten deals which are shortlisted across five Deal of the Year categories as follows:

• M&A Deal of the Year - Mercury NZ’s acquisition of Tilt Renewables NZ wind farm assets, operations and development options, led by Corporate partner Joe Windmeyer (advising Tilt Renewables).

• Debt Market Deal of the Year - ANZ Bank's retail offer and issue of Tier 2 unsecured subordinated notes, led by Banking and Finance partner Guy Lethbridge.

•  Equity Market Deal of the Year -

  • Allbirds Initial Public Offering, the first US company to extend direct IPO participation to New Zealanders based on the US prospectus, led by Corporate partner David Raudkivi;

  • Winton Land Limited's Initial Public Offering, advised on by Corporate partner David Raudkivi;

  • Fonterra Cooperative Group capital structure review, led by Corporate partner Joe Windmeyer; and

  • EBOS capital raise to finance Lifehealthcare acquisition, with Corporate partner David Raudkivi advising EBOS' major shareholder.

• Mid-Market Deal of the Year -

  • Fidelity Life’s acquisition of Westpac Group's New Zealand life insurance business, led by Corporate partner Ian Beaumont (assisting Westpac Group);

  • Classic Group and New Zealand Super Fund partnership in Kaha Ake ("Stronger Together") housing program, led by Corporate partner Tom Gillespie (advising NZ Super Fund); and

  • Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' acquisition of Education Perfect, advised on by Corporate partner Ben Paterson.

• Project Finance Deal of the Year - KiwiRail's $350 million loan facility, the first shipping loan in the world to be certified under the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI's) framework, led by Banking and Finance partner John Powell and Corporate partner Mei Fern Johnson.  

This follows on from the firm having been named 'New Zealand Firm of the Year' at the prestigious IFLR Asia-Pacific Awards.
 
The NZ Law Awards bring together industry leaders to celebrate excellence in the legal profession, recognising the outstanding achievements of firms, in-house legal teams and other industry professionals. 
 
The overall winners will be announced at the New Zealand Law Awards on Thursday 10 November at The Cordis, Auckland.
 
The firm wishes all of this year's Excellence Awardees, and in particular, those in the in-house categories the best of luck ahead of Awards night.
 
A full list of the 2022 excellence awards is available here.