Robert Pick

About Robert Pick

Rob is a Partner in the Corporate Group specialising in capital markets, M&A, corporate governance and general corporate advisory work.

Rob is Co-Head of the firm's Capital Markets Practice Group, and is a member of the Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia. He is ranked as a leading capital markets lawyer by Chambers ('Technically excellent and very responsive') and Legal500.

Capital Markets experience

Rob regularly acts for both issuers and lead managers on capital markets transactions involving equity, debt and hybrid securities. He has significant experience in dealing with both the Australian Securities Exchange and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Rob is regularly engaged by clients to advise on the largest and most complex equity capital markets transactions in Australia. He has acted on issuer's counsel on the largest ever primary capital raise in Australia (CSL Limited's A$7.05 billion institutional placement and share purchase plan), underwriter's counsel on the largest ever entitlement offer by an Australian issuer (National Australia Bank's A$5.5 billion entitlement offer) and underwriter's counsel on Australia's largest block trade (Chevron's $4.62 billion block trade of its 50% stake in Caltex).

His experience includes acting (as issuer's counsel or underwriters' counsel) on the transactions by the following issuers:

• IPOs and ASX Listings – PEXA Group, GQG Partners, Latitude Financial, Viva Energy, Viva Energy REIT, Aventus Property Group, Redbubble, IDP Education, SCA Property Group, Dyno Nobel, Charter Hall WALE REIT, Adairs, MacarthurCook Industrial Property Fund, Intueri Education, Vista Group, Tattersall's, RAMS Home Loans, SEEK, Repco Corporation, AWB, Mariner Pipeline Income Fund, Viridis Clean Energy Group, Select Managed Funds and Uecomm.
• Entitlement Offers – Appen, Sydney Airport, Qantas, Flight Centre, Reece, Bapcor, Redbubble, National Australia Bank, Speedcast, MMG Limited, Vocus Communications, Western Desert Resources, Tabcorp, WA Newspapers (now SevenWest Media), Amcor, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Newcrest Mining, Gindalbie Metals, Nufarm, Healthscope, Sino Gold, Devine Group, FKP Property Group, Norfolk Group, Abacus Property Group, Lihir Gold, Viridis Clean Energy Group, APA Group, APN News & Media and IBA Health/iSOFT.
• Institutional placements – CSL, IDP Education, Vicinity Centres, Bapcor, Incitec Pivot, IAG, Dexus, Tabcorp, Speedcast, Newcrest Mining, ANZ Bank, National Australia Bank, Macquarie Group, Western Desert Resources, CFS Retail Property Trust, Lihir Gold, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Mirabela Nickel, IBA Health, APA Group, SPC Ardmona, Transpacific Industries, Macquarie Countrywide Trust and ARC Energy.
• Hybrid and regulatory capital instruments – Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, IAG, Bank of Queensland, Challenger, Suncorp, Caltex Australia, Tabcorp, AMP, Southern Cross Airports Corporation and Amcor.
• Convertible bonds – Afterpay, Zip, Seven Group, Xero and Dexus.
• Block trades – Air New Zealand and Caltex.

M&A experience

Rob also has significant M&A experience, covering private sales, public takeovers (including the conduct of proceedings before the Takeovers Panel) and court-approved schemes of arrangement.

Rob's M&A experience includes advising on the following transactions:

• CSL – advising CSL Limited on its acquisition of Vifor Group.
• Canaccord – advising the owners of BGF Equities on the sale of a 50 per cent stake in BGF Equities to Canaccord Genuity.
• Patersons - advising Canaccord Genuity on its acquisition of Patersons by scheme of arrangement.
• Hyperfish – advising Incredible Capital LLC on the sale of Hyperfish to LiveTiles.
• Ferocia – advising Bendigo and Adelaide Bank on the acquisition of Ferocia.
• Australian Venue Co. – advising the shareholders of Australian Venue Co. on its sale to KKR.
• The Good Guys – advising the Muir Family on the sale of The Good Guys to JB Hi-Fi.
• Norfolk Group – advising Norfolk Group on its acquisition by RCR Tomlinson via scheme of arrangement.
• Nintex Group – advising Nintex Group on its acquisition by US private equity groups TA Associates and Updata Partners via a takeover bid.
• Foster's Group – advising Foster's Group on its defence of the hostile takeover bid by SABMiller and the subsequent agreed scheme of arrangement.
• Goldman Sachs Australia – advising the shareholders of Goldman Sachs & Partners Australia on the acquisition by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. of the remaining 55% of Goldman Sachs & Partners Australia.
• AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Limited – advising National Australia Bank on its proposed takeover of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings via scheme of arrangement.
• Dyno Nobel – advising Dyno Nobel on its takeover by Incitec Pivot via scheme of arrangement.
• Dyno Nobel – advising the Macquarie Group-led consortium on its acquisition of the Australian and North American businesses of Dyno Nobel (including structuring the investment arrangements between consortium members).
• United Energy – advising United Energy on its takeover by an AMP Henderson-Alinta consortium via scheme of arrangement.
• WMC – advising WMC on its demerger via scheme of arrangement to form WMC Resources and Alumina.
• CSL – advising CSL Limited on the sales of its animal health business to Pfizer and its JRH Biosciences business to Sigma-Aldrich, and on its acquisition of Callimune Inc.

Governance

Rob is relationship partner for a number of clients operating across a range of sectors including banking and financial services, education, healthcare, technology, general industrials and education, and is a trusted adviser to senior management and Boards.

He regularly advises companies and their Boards on the full spectrum of corporate governance and advisory issues, including board composition and procedures, directors' duties and liabilities, continuous disclosure issues, best practice corporate governance policies and procedures, AGM notices and procedures, executive remuneration (including equity incentive arrangements), and general corporate law and ASX Listing Rule compliance issues.