Neil’s practice centres on mergers and acquisitions with a particular expertise in listed company takeovers, cross-border acquisitions and mining and resource company acquisitions.

He advises major Australian and international corporations and investment banks on takeovers and schemes of arrangement, Takeovers Panel applications, negotiated acquisitions, private equity transactions, leveraged acquisitions, management buy-outs, joint ventures and equity capital raisings, share buy-backs and capital reductions.

Neil is co-author of the leading text on Australian takeovers, Takeovers Law and Strategy.

He is one of the few Australian M&A lawyers recommended as a leading M&A lawyer in the international publications Best Lawyers and PLC Which Lawyer?

Neil is the firm’s relationship partner for a number of  major clients including Orica and is head of Freehills’ India practice.

Neil has advised on transactions in Australia, Asia, Europe, the US and South America in a range of industries.  Particular transactions Neil has advised on include:

• Orica and DuluxGroup on the successful A$1 billion demerger and ASX listing of DuluxGroup (2010)
• Olam International on its successful acquisitions of the Timbercorp and TPIF almond orchards (2009-10)
• Pure Energy on the competing takeover bids for it by BG plc and Arrow Energy valuing the company at in excess of $1 billion (2009)
• OZ Minerals on its US$1.4 billion sale to Minmetals and related takeover and recapitalisation proposals (2009)
• Toll Holdings on the acquisition of an Indian logistics company (2009)
• Various proposed acquisitions, and establishment of joint ventures, by ASX top 50 companies of Indian companies (2006-9)
• MYOB on its takeover by Manhattan Software, a private equity consortium (2008-9)
• PC Tools on its sale to Symantec (2008)
• Orica on its $900 million capital raising and the proposed demerger of its consumer products division (2008)
• Coles ownership review process culminating in the $22 billion acquisition by Wesfarmers, Australia’s largest ever takeover proposal (2007)
• Olam International on its successful recommended takeover bid for Queensland Cotton (2007)
• MFS on its successful recommended takeover bids for S8 (2006), Sunleisure Group Limited (2007) and S8 Property Trust  (2007) which led to the creation of the Stella Group
• Orica on its $900 million acquisition of Minova (2006)
• Crosby Capital on its successful takeover bid for Orchard Petroleum (2006) and takeover bids for various other companies including Indophil Resources (2008)
• Oceana Gold on its merger with Climax Mining by scheme of arrangement and on Oceana Gold’s $146 million sell-down by GRD, its 57% shareholder (2006)
• Orica in its consortium with a Macquarie Bank led vehicle to acquire the Dyno Nobel explosives business for $US1.7 billion (2005-6)
• part of the Freehills team which advised the Australian Government on the sale of its remaining 51% interest in Telstra (“T3”) (2005-6)
• ABC Learning Centre’s 4 way $1.2 billion merger by way of schemes of arrangement with Peppercorn Management Group and Child Care Centres of Australia (2004) as well as other acquisitions for ABC including the acquisition of Childcare Development Solutions (2005), and Peppercorn Investment Fund (2004)
• MYOB’s merger by scheme of arrangement with Solution 6 (2004)
• Great Energy Alliance Consortium (“GEAC”) acquisition of Loy Yang A for approximately $3.5 billion (2003-4) as well as on-going advice for GEAC and Loy Yang A
• Orica’s acquisition of various businesses including Aluminates (2005), the Andean Chemicals Group in South America (2004), Marplex (2004), Bronson & Jacobs (2003-4) and Fernz specialty chemical business from Nufarm (2002)
• Toll Holdings’ acquisition of the Express logistics business from Mayne Group (2002)
• advising Coles Myer in relation to its contested board election involving Solomon Lew (2002)
• Deutsche Borse’s proposed takeover of LIFFE (the London Futures Exchange) (2001)
• Fiat Group’s proposed € 2.5 billion disposal of its automotive components business/division, Magneti Marelli, by way of several auction sales (2001)
• Man Group plc’s demerger of its agricultural products group to a management controlled newco for approx £600 million (1999-2000)
• Liberty Mutual Inc’s acquisition of the US insurance companies of Guardian Royal Exchange plc for approx £1 billion (1999)
• The initial public offering of Telstra in 1997 for approximately $15 billion (the largest IPO in the world in 1997)

Neil has bachelor degrees in Law (with First Class Honours) and Commerce (Finance major) from the University of Melbourne. He also has a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment. Neil is admitted to practice in Australia as well as in England and Wales.

Neil originally joined Freehills in 1995. From 1998 to 2002, Neil gained extensive international experience, working overseas at pre-eminent London and New York law firms.

As well as being co-author of Takeovers Law and Strategy, Neil has published a number of articles on takeovers law in corporate law journals and in The Australian Financial Review. In his final year at University, Neil was editor of the Melbourne University Law Review. Neil regularly presents papers on takeover and other corporate law matters and lectures in takeovers and securities laws at Melbourne University.

Neil is a member of the Corporations Committee of the Law Council of Australia.