The 50:50 joint venture has resulted in over 150 airport retail stores (including duty free, food services, travel essentials and specialty retail) and over 850 staff across Australia and New Zealand being brought together.
Property partner Ken Gray and Corporate and M&A partner Jason van Grieken, Competition partner Matthew Lees and Workplace Advisory partner Bridget Little, together with senior associate Gisella D'Costa and lawyers Noah Lipshut and Prianca Maharaj, advised on all aspects of the joint venture for AWPL.
Founder and Managing Director of AWPL, Costa Kouros, commented: “The last 18 months have challenged travel retail on a global scale. The intention of this joint venture is to bring together two great businesses – our heritage, our people, our values – so that we create something special in our region for many years to come. The customer will be at the heart of everything we do, every decision we make.”
Jason van Grieken commented on the firm’s involvement: “It’s been an honour to work with Costa and his team on this ground breaking deal and to have been on this journey with them as they maximise opportunities in their recovery from the pandemic and seek to achieve market leadership.”
