Overview
Freehills has a wealth of experience advising governments on most of Australia's significant privatisations during recent times.
Some of these landmark sales include Sydney Airport, Telstra (T1, T2 and T3), Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the restructure and privatisation of the Victorian electricity and gas industries and plantations.
We have acquired an in-depth understanding of the protocols of the Commonwealth and state governments as well as the risks and accountabilities that are inherent in a government sale process.
We also regularly act for bidders in privatisation trade sales and have been involved in most of the major rail, airport and gas privatisation trade sales in recent years.
By understanding the complex nature of privatisations, our clients are well-positioned to evaluate privatisation and corporatisation under the existing legal regime and benefit from reform.
In 2006, Freehills advised the Australian Government on the landmark sale of its remaining stake in Telstra Corporation Ltd (T3).
The T3 offering (A$15.5 billion) was Australia's second largest ever equity raising (and the largest offer since T2 in 1999). It was one of the highest profile equity raisings in Australian history and was awarded:
- Australasian Legal Business Australian Deal of the Year 2007 and Equity Market Deal of the Year 2007
- INSTO's Distinction Award for Equity Deal of the Year and Issuer of the Year 2006
- FinanceAsia's Best Secondary Offering 2006, and
- Asian Counsel Awards Deal of the Year 2006.
In early 2007, Freehills was appointed legal adviser to the Australian Government on the sale of ASC Pty Ltd (formerly known as the Australian Submarine Corporation). The government's intention is that the company be sold through a competitive tender trade sale. Freehills also acted on the scoping study into the sale of ASC Pty Ltd in 2005–06.
Experience
Our experience listed below, together with our role in the float of Qantas, the three stages of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia privatisation, the float of NSW TAB and the A$25 billion privatisation of Victoria’s electricity, gas and public transport assets, positions us as one of the market leaders in the area of privatisations and corporatisations.
Our privatisations experience also includes:
- Advising the Australian Government on all aspects of the A$15.5 billion sale of the government’s remaining shareholding in Telstra (T3). This was awarded INSTO's Distinction Award for Equity Deal of the Year and Issuer of the Year 2006, and FinanceAsia's Best Secondary Offering 2006. Freehills also advised on the first two stages of the Australian Government’s sale of Telstra.
- Acting as legal adviser to the Australian Government on the sale of ASC Pty Ltd. Freehills also acted on the scoping study into the sale of ASC Pty Ltd in 2005–06.
- Advising the Australian Government on Australia’s largest ever trade sale – the A$5.8 billion sale of Sydney Airports Corporation Limited (the airport lessee/management company of Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport) to the Southern Cross Consortium (led by Macquarie Bank).
- Acting for the Australian Government on the scoping study for the potential privatisation of Medibank Private.
- Advising on the sale of several government-owned airports in the Sydney region, including Bankstown, Hoxton Park and Camden Airports.
- Acting for the Egis/Adsteam Marine Consortium on its successful bid for the privatisation of the South Australian Ports.
- Acting for the Western Australian Government and various Port Authorities in relation to a large number of port asset corporatisation and privatisation transactions.
- Acting for the New South Wales Government in relation to the restructure of its electricity supply industry, including establishing Eraring Energy as a new generation corporation and the transfer of A$1.5 billion of assets to that corporation, and the establishment of Country Energy.
- Acting for the Government of Tasmania in relation to the disaggregation of the Hydro Electric Corporation, the establishment of a regulatory framework for the industry and the preparation of the Hydro Electric Corporation successor bodies for sale.
- Acting for the Queensland Government in relation to the reform and restructuring of the Queensland electricity supply industry into separate retail, distribution and generation companies.
- Acting on the sale by the Australian Government of ComLand Limited to a subsidiary of Lend Lease Corporation.
- Acting for Victorian Plantations Corporation on the sale of the company to Hancock Timber Resource Group. A unique public licensing mechanism was developed to achieve this, along with enabling legislation and a novel form of registration system to record secure interests and provide for subsequent dealings.
- Acting for the successful consortiums bidding for the privatisation of Perth International Airport and Darwin International, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek airports.
- Advising the Korean Government and its state controlled electricity utility KEPCO in relation to the electricity industry reform program. The Korean reform program involved breaking up the utility's generating division into several competing generating companies and transmission companies and introducing a new wholesale electricity market and regulatory framework ahead of a proposed industry privatisation.
