The Mergermarket M&A Awards recognise “creative advisory work on complex transactions” and Arnold Bloch Leibler has been shortlisted this year in the category of Financial Service M&A Legal Adviser of the Year.
The judges highlighted two deals that demonstrated the firm’s point of difference:
- Advising the majority securityholders of Australian B2B equipment rentals business, Onsite Rental Group, in the sale of Onsite Rental to Malaysia's Sime Darby Berhad for A$635 million. Acting for a group of non-natural holders with different interests and different objectives played to ABL’s strength in negotiating win-win outcomes by finding and advocating common ground.
- Acting for one of Australia’s leading private insurance distribution firms, Insurance Brands Australia, in relation to its sale to Steadfast Group for $301 million. The private insurance broking business was majority owned by PE, management shareholders and other minorities, requiring considerable strategic and logistical effort to achieve a clean exit.
The Onsite Rental Group transaction was led by corporate and M&A partner Scott Phillips with support from banking & finance partner Ben Mahoney, senior associate Cameron Sivwright, lawyer Sara Yacoub, and law graduate Ramon Callis
The Insurance Brands Australia transaction was led by Jason van Grieken with support from senior associate Ari Bendet.
Other firms shortlisted in the category were Ashurst, Gilbert + Tobin, Herbert Smith Freehills and King & Wood Mallesons, with winners across the 15 categories to be announced at a gala dinner in Sydney on 25 October.
