Joe Windmeyer

Partner

Auckland

Corporate Advisory

+64 9 367 8237 DDI [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/joewindmeyer/

Profile

Joe is one of New Zealand's most highly influential lawyers with more than 40 years' experience specialising in corporate and commercial law. He is a previous Russell McVeagh board member and has a reputation for his expertise in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and securities work. He provides clients with clear advice on listed and unlisted company takeovers, assets and share acquisitions and disposals, and offers of securities, helping them to achieve commercial outcomes.

Joe's extensive experience delivers unparalleled results and enables clients to make successful commercial deals. He is the lead corporate advisor for a major listed issuers including Fonterra Co-operative Group, Manawa Energy, Bremworth, The Warehouse Group and Kiwi Property Group, as well as other entities such as The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

Before joining Russell McVeagh in 2004, Joe had been a partner at another large New Zealand law firm for 12 years.

Related expertise

Corporate Advisory

Capital Markets

Mergers & Acquisitions

International Trade & Investment

Private Equity

Energy & Renewables

Experience

Joe's experience includes advising:

Craigs Investment Partners (CIP) on the strategic investment in the CIP group by a global private equity firm.
Kiwi Property Group Limited on its potential investment in Mackersy Property Limited.
City Developments Limited on the full takeover offer by its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary CDL Hotels Holdings New Zealand Limited (CDLHH NZ), for all of the ordinary shares in Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand Limited not already held by CDLHH NZ.
Trustpower Limited on its liquidation and demerger into two separate NZX and ASX listed companies so as to separate its hydro generation and retail base from its windfarm assets.
Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited on its establishment of ‘Trading Among Farmers’, including establishing a new private share market operated by NZX Limited, an initial public offering by the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund and its listing on both the NZSX and the ASX. (Winner of the Equity Market Deal of the Year award at the NZ Law Awards 2022)
Tilt Renewables on its NZ$3.24 billion takeover by way of scheme of arrangement.
Freightways on the $117 million acquisition of Big Chill.
Bounty Fresh on the acquisition of Tegal.
Amphenol Corporation on its acquisition of Phitek by way of amalgamation.
Genesis Energy on its securities offering and listing on the NZX pursuant to the Government MOM process.
Turners & Growers Limited on the takeover by BayWa AG.
Tru-Test on its acquisition of Dairy Technology Services Limited.
Westfarmers on the sale of the Crombie Lockwood group to A J Gallaghers.

Insights

Recognition

Joe is recognised as a leading Corporate and M&A lawyer by the Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2025 Guide, as well as the Chambers and Partners' Asia-Pacific 2025 Guide and Global 2021 Guide. He has been named 'Lawyer of the Year' for Corporate Governance and Compliance Practice in the 2024 Best Lawyers® New Zealand Guide and is recognised in the fields of Capital Markets Law, Corporate Law, M&A Law, Private Equity Law, Energy Law, Corporate Governance and Compliance Practice. Our Corporate Advisory team was named New Zealand's top deal firm at the 2019 New Zealand Law Awards, and Joe co-led the team that won 'Consumer, Media and Tech Deal of the Year' at the awards.

Joe was named a finalist in the 'NZ Dealmaker of the Year' category in the 2022 Australasian Law Awards.

He is described as 'the one for difficult questions for leading corporates' in the Legal 500 Guide; and 'technically excellent but also has sound judgement' by Chambers & Partners.