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JeremyL 636

About Jeremy

Jeremy Lanzer is a partner in our corporate and commercial practice. He has a particular focus on mergers & acquisitions, equity capital markets, venture capital, shareholder activism and corporate governance.

Jeremy acts for a range of public and private clients in Australia and overseas across various industry sectors, including technology, internet and e-commerce, retail, cybersecurity, property development, and pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

Jeremy holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Melbourne Business School, and has spoken publicly about the importance of emotional intelligence and being business savvy in legal practice. He is also a regular contributor to mainstream media on issues of corporate governance and listed public companies.

Jeremy is ranked by Chambers Global for Corporate/M&A, attracting praise as an “astute, sensible and practical adviser” who offers “clear, succinct advice”.

Jeremy has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers® International list for Australia for his work in commercial law, corporate law, equity capital markets law and venture capital law. He is also recommended by Legal 500 Asia Pacific in the areas of capital markets and corporate and M&A, as well as being recognised in Legal Media Group’s Rising Stars Expert Guides publication for corporate/M&A/private equity, the only lawyer in Australia ranked for that category.

Jeremy Lanzer is ‘technically skilled and commercially insightful’, a ‘highly responsive’ source of ‘clear, succinct advice’ and valued as an ‘astute, sensible and practical adviser’.

Client quotes

Practice focus

Jeremy’s practice focuses on the following areas:

  • public takeovers, mergers and acquisitions
  • public and private capital raisings, including initial public offerings and ASX listings
  • private business and share acquisitions and disposals
  • private equity and venture capital
  • shareholder activism and board disputes
  • corporate governance, culture and strategy
  • disclosure, regulatory compliance and investigations
  • crisis management and stakeholder communication strategy, and
  • general commercial and corporate advice.

Experience

Jeremy’s experience includes the following matters:

Public M&A transactions

  • Probiotec: in relation to its acquisition by Indonesian-listed company PT Pyridam Farma, by way of scheme of arrangement
  • ME Bank: in relation to the $1.325 billion sale by 26 Australian industry super funds to ASX-listed Bank of Queensland
  • Nufarm: in relation to the:
    • $611 million strategic investment by Sumitomo Chemical Company
    • defence of the proposed scheme of arrangement by Chinese state-owned Sinochem Corporation
  • Phileo Australia: advised Rudy Koh, Managing Director and major shareholder, as the proponent of Phileo’s proposed privatisation involving a selective capital reduction and ASX delisting
  • Premier Investments: in relation to its $900 million takeover of Just Group
  • Nine Entertainment on behalf of the senior lenders including US hedge funds Apollo Global Management and Oaktree Capital Group: in relation to the $3.4 billion restructure of Nine Entertainment by way of scheme of arrangement
  • Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals: in relation to its successful defence of an unsolicited takeover proposal from NASDAQ-listed Retrophin
  • Taverners Group: in relation to its successful takeover of ASX-listed investment company Astra Capital
  • Viento Group: in relation to its defence of the proposed off-market takeover by Mariner Corporation, and
  • Eye Investment Fund: in the application to the Takeovers Panel by Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation in relation to Ambassador Oil and Gas Limited.

Private M&A transactions

  • Carsales: in relation to its:
    • acquisition of an additional 40% of WebMotors S.A. in Brazil from Santander Bank for BRL$1.240 billion
    • acquisition of a 49 percent stake in US-based digital marketplace business, Trader Interactive
    • acquisition of remaining 51 percent stake of Trader Interactive for $1.17 billion
    • KRW$117.5 billion acquisition of 49.9 per cent of the online assets of SK Encar, South Korea’s leading automotive trading business
    • R$180 million acquisition from Banco Santander of a 30 per cent interest in WebMotors SA, the leading automotive website in Brazil
    • acquisition of an 83 per cent interest in Chileautos, the leading automotive classifieds website in Chile
    • $60.1 million acquisition of a 50.1 per cent interest in Stratton Finance
    • investment, together with Stratton Finance, in peer-to-peer lender RateSetter
  • Journal Student Accommodation Fund, a trust jointly owned by South African REIT Redefine Properties and Melbourne based Citiplan Properties, on the sale of two student accommodation buildings in Melbourne for $459 million to German investment house Allianz Real Estate
  • SEEK Limited: in relation to its:
    • $330 million sale of its 50 per cent interest in IDP Education Limited
    • $206 million acquisition of a 60 per cent stake in Jobs DB
  • US investment firm, Starwood Capital on behalf of Starwood Property Trust, on its first Australian debt deal, a $220 million development facility for a project by international student accommodation specialist, Scape
  • Elula: in relation to the 25 per cent investment in its business by listed digital property exchange platform, PEXA Group
  • Icon Co: in relation to its sale of a majority stake to Japanese builder Kajima Corporation
  • Probiotec: in relation to its:
    • acquisition of Multipack-LJM for an aggregate enterprise value of $52.5 million
    • sale of various branded portfolios, including the sale of its Impromy brand to Blackmores, the sale of the Gold Cross, David Craig and Skin Basics brands to iNova Pharmaceuticals and the sale of its Celebrity Slim brand to Global Brands Australia
  • Catchoftheday and Scoopon: in relation to the sale of a minority stake to a consortium including Tiger Global Management, James Packer’s Consolidated Press Holdings and SEEK’s Andrew Bassat
  • Votiro Cybersec: in relation to a strategic investment by ASX-listed Senetas Corporation
  • Executive Channel Network: in relation to the $68.5 million sale of its Australian business to ASX-listed oOh!media
  • Ekornes ASA: in relation to its NOK 550 million (approximately A$94 million) acquisition of International Mobel Group
  • the Grenda family: in relation to the sale of its bus and coach operating businesses, Grenda Transit Management, to privately owned Melbourne bus operator, Ventura
  • IPAR Rehabilitation: in relation to its 70% sale to global private equity firm, Riverside Partners
  • Kidspot: in relation to its sale to Australian media giant, News Limited, and
  • Voyager Travel (including its major shareholder, the Krongold Group): in relation to the sale of Voyager Travel Corporation to ATP Instone, a leading UK travel company.

Capital markets

  • Carsales: in relation to its
    • $500 million capital raising undertaken to fund the acquisition of an additional 40% of WebMotors S.A in Brazil
    • $1.2 billion equity raising to fund the acquisition of the remaining 51% of Trader Interactive 
    • $600 million entitlement offer to fund its acquisition of a 49 percent stake in US-based digital marketplace business, Trader Interactive
    • $800 million IPO and listing on ASX
  • Retail Food Group: in relation to its $47.4 million capital raising consisting of institutional equity placement, share purchase plan and debt refinancing
  • Nufarm: in relation to several multi-million dollar capital raisings, including an entitlement offer to fund the US$490 million acquisition of a crop protection portfolio from Adama Agricultural Solutions and Syngenta Crop Protection and a $303 million equity raising to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and provide capital for future projects and acquisition opportunities
  • Booktopia: in relation to its $10.9 million capital raising by way of a two-tranche placement of shares and attaching options, alongside a debt to equity conversion and loan extension
  • Thorney Technologies: in relation to:
    • the recapitalisation of ASX-listed Australian Renewable Fuels and ASX relisting as a tech investment fund
    • its private placement capital raising
  • SEEK: in relation to its $100 million placement, share purchase plan and top-up offer
  • Probiotec: in relation to its $10.56 million capital raising
  • Thorney Opportunities: in relation to its capital raising via private placement and share purchase plan
  • Slater & Gordon: in relation to its:
    • $65 million capital raising involving an institutional placement and share purchase plan
    • $40 million capital raising via share purchase plan to fund partially its acquisition of Trilby Misso Lawyers
  • Hireup: in relation to its private capital raisings
  • Funtastic: in relation to its capital raising via an entitlement offer, and
  • Votiro Cybersec: in relation to multiple private capital raisings and corporate restructures.

Shareholder activism

  • Solomon Lew and Premier Investments: in relation to its campaign for change on the board of department store Myer Holdings
  • Gary Weiss and Ariadne Australia: in relation to the successful campaign for change at Dreamworld theme park owner Ardent Leisure Group, resulting in two board appointments and Dr. Weiss’ appointment as board chairman
  • Michael Kum and Halom Investments: in relation to its public dispute with the board of marine service provider, MMA Offshore, and
  • Maso Capital Partners: in relation to various activist strategies and campaigns including Paladin Energy.

Directorships & memberships

Jeremy is a member of the advisory board of e-commerce business Bed Threads. He is also co-chair of Community Security Group Victoria (CSG), co-vice president of the Mount Scopus College Foundation and a member of the National Council for Jewish Community Security. Jeremy is also a:

  • fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia (FGIA)
  • member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD)
  • member of the Law Council of Australia
  • member of the International Bar Association, and
  • member of the Law Institute of Victoria.

Awards & recognition

Jeremy is recognised as a leading lawyer by various international guides to lawyers and law firms, and industry awards including:

  • Best Lawyers® International: commercial law, corporate law, equity capital markets law and venture capital law
  • Chambers Global: corporate and M&A
  • Legal 500 Asia Pacific: capital markets and corporate and M&A
  • Legal Media Group’s Expert Guides: rising star for corporate/M&A/private equity, and
  • Lawyers Weekly: Member of the Corporate & commercial team who won ‘Transaction Team of the Year’ at the Australian Law Awards.

Recognition & publications

Take a look at Insights & News articles referencing Jeremy Lanzer