Our thorough understanding of private equity fund formation and the needs, not only of the manager but also of potential investors, enables us to advise on terms and structures which optimise legal and commercial outcomes for managers, while being readily marketable and acceptable to potential investors.

We have provided longstanding support to the private equity industry, including:

• dealing with the reforms to state limited partnership legislation to facilitate the use of venture capital limited partnerships
• preparing the industry standard limited partnership deed for the Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, and
• by preparing the publication by the Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association on why and how to invest in private equity.

Our expertise covers a broad range of wholesale, retail and multijurisdictional fund structures, including parallel unit trusts, parallel offshore funds, feeder funds, funds of funds, pooled development funds, innovation investment funds, pre-seed funds, directly managed funds and venture capital limited partnerships.

We have advised on the establishment and investment in over 100 private equity funds totalling more than A$10 billion.

We have advised:

• ABN AMRO Capital Management on the formation of ABN AMRO Capital Australia Fund II – including the formation of offshore parallel funds for offshore investors.
• Advent Private Capital on the formation of Advent V.
• Allen & Buckeridge on the formation of Allen & Buckeridge Emerging Technologies Fund.
• ANZ Bank on the formation of ANZ Business Equity Fund .
• Archer Capital on the formation of Archer Capital Funds 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the Archer Capital Growth Fund
• Catalyst on the formation of Catalyst Management Buyout Funds 1, 2, 3 and 4, the Catalyst Management Buyout Bridge Fund and Catalyst Buyout Funds 1 and 2
• Centre for Energy and Greenhouse Technologies on the formation of CEGT Trusts.
• GBS Ventures on the formation of Genesis Fund.
• Goldman Sachs on the formation of the Collateral Mezzanine Fund 05 and the Australian Mezzanine Fund 2
• Gresham Private Equity on the formation of Gresham Private Equity Fund 2 which included the Gresham Private Equity Co-Investment Fund.
• Sciventures on the formation of Sciventures Pre-Seed Fund.
• Starfish Ventures on the formation of Starfish Pre-Seed Fund and Starfish Technology Fund I, LP – the first ever incorporated limited partnership in Australia.
• Starfish Ventures on the formation of Starfish Technology Fund II.
  

Legal Guides

• PLC Which Lawyer?, ranked Al Donald as one of the two leading private equity lawyers in Australia, 2007

Testimonials

• ‘A string of first-rate partners’ – Asia Pacific Legal 500, 2005