Hall & Wilcox advises Stone & Chalk on its merger with AustCyber

Hall & Wilcox has advised Stone & Chalk on its merger with the Australian Cyber Security Growth Network (AustCyber), a Commonwealth-funded, not-for-profit organisation.

The deal will allow AustCyber to leverage Stone & Chalk’s position in the startup community to scale Australia’s cyber capabilities into strategically significant emerging technology industries.

AustCyber is one of six Industry Growth Centres set up by the Commonwealth as part of the Industry Growth Centres Initiative in order to boost innovation and science in Australia. Startups and scale-ups will have greater access to domestic and international customers, talent, expertise and capital.

Hall & Wilcox advised on all legal elements of the transaction, including drafting and negotiating the Integration Deed, advising on corporate structure, including amendments to the AustCyber constituent documents, assisting with employment arrangements and undertaking legal due diligence.

The Hall & Wilcox team was led by Partner Jacqui Barrett. Lawyers Paul Simos and Rebecca Kazzi acted on the corporate side.

Jacqui Barrett said, ‘We are delighted to have acted on a transaction that has such transformative potential for Stone & Chalk, AustCyber and Australia. The merger was unique in its structure and represented a fantastic opportunity for us to draft innovatively and find bespoke solutions to give effect to the intentions of the parties.’

Hall & Wilcox is a leading independent Australian law firm of around 750 people including over 90 partners, delivering outstanding legal services to corporate, public sector and private clients, both Australian-based and those offshore doing business in Australia. The Hall & Wilcox Technology & Digital Economy team advises a diverse range of clients, from tech startups to market-leading multinational technology suppliers. We advise on and implement complex cross-border technology-based transactions, run a startup accelerator program called Frank Lab, act in complex and high-profile media rights transactions, advise on all aspects of data protection, respond to cyber security incidents, advise on regulatory issues relating to cryptocurrencies and liaise with government and regulators on blockchain and the taxation of digital assets.