About Genevieve
Genevieve Sexton practices in commercial and banking and finance law with a strong emphasis on corporate finance transactions and corporate restructures.
She has acted for financiers and borrowers, major corporations and family groups in a diverse range of finance and restructuring matters, including corporate finance, property development finance, mezzanine finance, joint ventures, shareholder arrangements and formal and informal corporate restructures.
In August 2021, Genevieve was appointed Chair of Australian Government's Safe Harbour Review Panel. The panel is responsible for reviewing the insolvent safe harbour that protects company directors from personal liability for insolvent trading if the company is genuinely attempting to restructure.
Genevieve joined Arnold Bloch Leibler as an article clerk, was appointed as a senior associate in 2008 and a partner in 2011.
“Genevieve displays an excellent knowledge of the underlying business operations together with a commercial pragmatism required to complete complex transactions that makes her an integral advisory partner to any company.”
Practice focus
Genevieve’s practice focuses on the following areas:
- banking and finance transactions, including acting for borrowers and lenders in corporate financings, debt and equity financing transactions, property development finance, project finance and mezzanine finance
- large solvent and insolvent restructuring and workout transactions, and
- general commercial and corporate transactions, including joint ventures, shareholder arrangements, business acquisitions and restructuring advice.
Experience
Genevieve has acted for major corporations, financiers and family groups in a range of matters, including:
Corporate finance
- Nufarm Limited: in relation to:
- its $950 million global refinancing including a five year $800 million revolving Asset Based Lending secured credit facility and a two year $150 million secured Liquidity Facility
- the placement of $97.5 million of preference securities to existing shareholder and strategic business partner, Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited
- its global financing facilities, including its $665 million secured syndicated bank facility, receivables securitisation and USPP
- its offering of senior unsecured notes to qualified institutional buyers in the United States
- Visy Group: in relation to all financing matters, including:
- its long term debt facilities from Australian superannuation funds
- a multiple general corporate and property syndicated bank facilities
- project financing of extensions to Visy’s paper mill at Tumut and its cogeneration plant at Coolaroo
- QCoal: in relation to a $90 million refinancing transaction with Queensland coal miner Bounty Mining
- Thorney Investment Group: in relation to all aspects of the acquisition of a former Fairfax newspaper and property portfolio,
- Corporate facilities for various companies: including Carsales.com, RedCape, Bradken and Probiotec.
Property finance
- Merricks Capital: in connection with a variety of property, corporate and agricultural financings, including:
- a A$300 million syndicated facility for secured non-bank finance with Melbourne-based developer Goldfields
- a A$190 million syndicated facility to fund construction of the mixed-use development in Abbotsford, Victoria, known as Park House.
- Qualitas: in relation to:
- the setup of a $500m development fund, established to provide construction finance to property developers
- the purchase of the $400 million property portfolio of the Allied Pinnacle flour milling and baked goods business
- Property developers including Bensons, Perri Projects and MAB Corporation: in relation to the financing of various residential, commercial and retail developments.
Restructuring & insolvency
- Axsesstoday insolvency: advised the administrators of Axsesstoday in respect of its sale
- Bounty Mining receivers: acted for the receivers of Bounty Mining in relation to the receivership of coal miner Bounty Mining
- Slater & Gordon: in respect of its 2017 corporate restructure
- Bis Industries: represented the majority of the payment-in-kind (PIK) noteholders, in negotiating a debt for equity swap under which the PIK noteholders received equity in the newly recapitalised holding company of the BIS group
- Boart Longyear: acted as Australian counsel for two of the hedge funds (Ares Management and Ascribe Capital) that held a significant portion of the Secured Notes and the Unsecured Notes issued by Boart Longyear, in respect of the Boart Longyear schemes of arrangement
- Oroton administrators: acted as counsel for the administrators of Oroton, and the subsequent Deed of Company Arrangement, and
- Numerous ASX listed and private companies: confidentially, in relation to directors’ duties, safe harbour and restructure options.
“Genevieve Sexton is knowledgeable, responsive, and practical. I trust Genevieve to provide advice that is timely, commercially focused, and ready to be applied.”
Awards & recognition
Genevieve is recognised as a leading lawyer by various international guides to lawyers and law firms, and industry awards including:
- Best Lawyers® International: banking & finance law, insolvency & reorganisation law and project finance & development practice
- Chambers Asia Pacific: restructuring & insolvency
- Doyle’s Guide: banking & finance
- IFLR1000: banking and project finance
- Lawyers Weekly: Finalist, Women in Law ‘Partner of the Year Award, 2018’, and
- Legal 500 Asia Pacific: banking & finance and restructuring & insolvency.
Directorships & memberships
Genevieve is a Director of TMA Australia.
