Lance Jones

Lance is a special counsel with extensive corporate law experience. He specialises in mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, joint ventures and shareholder arrangements, inbound overseas investment and general corporate matters for key clients of the firm. Lance is known for his technical skill, client-focused commercial approach, and his ability to lead large and complex matters and gain exceptional results. Prior to joining the firm, Lance worked for seven years in London and three years in Sydney at major international firms on cross-border M&A, private equity and capital markets transactions.

Lance is one of New Zealand's leading experts on the Overseas Investment Act, having advised on many successful applications since returning from London in 2014, and being intimately involved in the Treasury consultation process on, and preparing Russell McVeagh's and client submissions on, the multi-stage overhaul of the Act between 2018 and 2021. Lance is also a prominent member of the Overseas Investment Office's 'Legal Reference Group', with whom the OIO regularly consults on technical, policy and procedural matters.

Lance has co-authored the New Zealand Chapter for Chambers and Partners Global Practice Guide - Private Equity for the last three years (2021, 2022 and 2023), and has authored the New Zealand chapter of the global publication Getting the Deal Through – Foreign Investment Review for the last four years (2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023).

Lance's recent experience includes advising:

• Fisher Funds on its acquisition of Kiwi Wealth, including obtaining Overseas Investment Office consent.
• Lineage Logistics New Zealand on its acquisition of Cold Storage Nelson Limited.
• I-MED on its competitive bid for, and acquisition of, Hamilton Radiology and Midland MRI, I-MED’s first major investment in radiology clinics in the New Zealand market, including obtaining Overseas Investment Office consent.
• Pacific Equity Partners and Carlyle on New Zealand aspects of the sale of iNova Pharmaceuticals to TPG Capital.
• Cigna on the sale of its New Zealand life insurance businesses to Chubb.
• Advising Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Fund XI on New Zealand aspects of its acquisition of OCS Group International, the facilities services division of OCS Group, including obtaining Overseas Investment Office consent.
• Square, Inc (now Block, Inc) on New Zealand aspects of its acquisition of Afterpay by scheme of arrangement valued at approximately NZ41 billion on announcement, making it the largest M+A deal in Australasian history at that time, including obtaining Overseas Investment Office consent.
• United Rentals, Inc on New Zealand aspects of its acquisition of General Finance Corporation by scheme of arrangement, including obtaining Overseas Investment Office consent.
• Complectus Limited, on its sale of The New Zealand Guardian Trust Company and Covenant Trustee Services Limited to Tricor Group.
• Fisher Funds Management Limited on its competitive bid for, and acquisition of, AON New Zealand's superannuation business, including the Aon New Zealand KiwiSaver scheme and Master Trust.
• Pacific Equity Partners on New Zealand aspects of its sale of Lifehealthcare to EBOS.
• Lineage Logistics Holdings, LLC on its acquisition of Emergent Cold from Elliot Management Corp, including obtaining Overseas Investment Office consent.

LLB (Hons), BCom, University of Canterbury

Prior to joining Russell McVeagh in 2014, Lance worked in the corporate team at Norton Rose Fullbright in London and Herbert Smith Freehills in Sydney. He began his career at another leading New Zealand corporate law firm in 2003.