About Christine
Christine is a partner of the firm’s corporate & M&A and private clients practices. She has a diverse practice, providing legal and strategic advice to Australia's wealthiest individuals, entrepreneurs and family groups, as well as to family offices, global hedge funds, ASX-listed companies and insolvency administrators.
Christine is noted for her work at the intersection of corporate and private client law. She is recognised as a leading Corporate and M&A lawyer in Legal 500 Asia Pacific and Chambers Asia Pacific, and has been ranked by the Chambers High Net Worth guide for her expertise in Private Wealth Law. She has been a finalist in the Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards for “Commercial Partner of the Year” and is also recommended in Doyle’s Guide for commercial law and succession planning.
Clients say she has “the perfect mix of being across the detail, incredibly smart and technically competent in her field. By getting this mix right she builds a firm foundation to competently manage the many moving parts of a transaction.”
Christine graduated from The University of Melbourne with a first class honours degree in law and a degree in commerce. She joined Arnold Bloch Leibler as an articled clerk in 2005, was appointed a senior associate in 2010, and promoted to partner in 2016.
"Christine is an impressive lawyer. She is intelligent, commercial, knows her stuff and is good to deal with."
Practice focus
- mergers and acquisitions
- business and corporate restructuring
- stakeholder agreements, including partnership, shareholder and joint venture agreements
- family offices
- succession planning, including family agreements and constitutions, and
- wealth management, including asset protection, estate planning and family disputes.
Experience
Christine's recent experience includes acting for:
- betr: on its landmark $50.0 million merger with ASX_listed BlueBet and associated $20.0 million capital raising.
- Propel Group: on the sale of two of its iconic Australian brands – Driza Bone and Rossie Boots - to Gina Rinehart's S. Kidman & Co.
- Macquarie Capital Principal Finance: on its 15% investment in Australian based insurance investment and distribution business Envest, part of the Ardonagh Group, valuing the business at more than $1.0 billion and in relation to Ardonagh’s $2.3 billion proposed acquisition of PSC Insurance Group Ltd via a scheme of arrangement .
- Tripp Group and Tekkorp Holdings: on the launch of a new Australian online wagering business, betr, in partnership with News Corporation
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ME Bank: on the $1.325 billion sale by 26 Australian industry super funds to Bank of Queensland Ltd
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Spotlight: on the acquisition by Spotlight of Harris Scarfe from insolvency, via a Deed of Company Arrangement
- BGH Capital: on its bid to acquire Virgin Australia
- the founders of CrownBet: on a series of milestone transactions, including the $150m exit of Crown Resorts, the entry of new partner The Stars Group, the sale of a further 18 per cent interest in CrownBet to The Stars Group and the acquisition by CrownBet of William Hill Australia for circa $300m and the exercise of a put option of the founders’ remaining shares
- The deed administrators of Arrium Australia: in relation to the successful competitive sale process out of a complex insolvency process, which resulted in the sale of Arrium Australia as a going concern and comprising debt of over $4.0 billion
- Fitness Outcomes: in relation to its acquisition by Patties Foods
- BlueScope Steel: in relation to the sale of its New Zealand iron sands business, and
- some of Australia’s wealthiest individuals and family groups: in relation to family offices, estate planning, business succession planning, family agreements and complex family disputes.
Directorships & memberships
Christine is a member of the board of:
- the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute; and
- the TarraWarra Museum of Art.
She is also a trustee of the Besen Family Foundation and the Bennelong Foundation. She is a former director of the National Theatre and the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra.
Awards & recognition
Christine is recognised as a leading lawyer by various international guides to lawyers and law firms, including
- Chambers Asia Pacific: corporate and M&A
- Chambers High-net-worth: private wealth
- Doyle’s Guide: commercial law and wills, estates and succession planning
- Best Lawyers® International: commercial law and corporate law, and
- Legal 500 Asia Pacific: corporate and M&A.
