Ed’s practice covers corporate transactions and advice, and private mergers and acquisitions (both local and inbound international), with a particular focus on mid-market deals in Australia, including restructures and international transactions. Ed has significant experience running large projects including company establishment, corporate restructures and succession for large family groups.
Ed has particular expertise with cross-border transactions, and regularly advises international clients on entering the Australian market. He co-manages Hall & Wilcox’s international law firm network.
Ed has advised on over 200 M&A transactions, including acting for buyers and sellers across a range of sectors on share sales, business & asset sales, due diligence projects, private equity transactions and venture capital investments. His clients include public and private companies, local and international businesses, professional services firms, restructure & turnaround and insolvency professionals.
Ed has extensive industry expertise in Manufacturing, Food & Beverage, Retail, Automotive, Bus Transport, Agribusiness, Infrastructure, Healthcare, Aged Care & Retirement living, Professional Services, Financial Services, and Insurance, and has particular sector expertise in Private Equity & Venture Capital, Insolvency and Family business.
Ed is a non-executive director of a third-generation family manufacturing business in the automotive, industrial and defence sectors, with operations in Australia and Thailand. He served for four years on the Victorian Committee of Family Business Australia and three years as Chairman of the FBA advisor executive committee. He has also served on the advisory committee for a family-owned national retail clothing chain.
Ed is recommended in The Best Lawyers in Australia for M&A, commercial law and corporate law. He is listed as a recommended corporate and M&A lawyer in the Legal 500 Asia Pacific and has been listed in Doyle’s Guide to the Australia Legal Profession as a private equity and capital markets lawyer, as well as a business and commercial lawyer in Victoria.
Experience
- Advised Nostra Property Group on its agreement to acquire Porter Davis’s multiple dwelling business.
- Advised the sellers of Victorian integrated construction materials business Dandy Premix on the $85 million sale of the business to Maas Group Holdings Limited.
- Advised Kilara Capital on the establishment of the $34 million Kilara Growth Fund, which is Australia’s first climate-focused growth private equity fund.
- Acting for Torishima Pump Mfg. Co., Ltd a Tokyo Stock Exchange listed company with a Head of Global Business located in Edinburgh, Scotland. This included conducting due diligence, prepared and negotiated transaction documents. Pitcher Partners provided the corporate finance advice. The deal is the first acquisition by Torishima in Australia and gives the company strategic access to mining and construction markets in Australia.
- Advising AmorePacific, one of the world’s largest skincare and cosmetics companies, headquartered in South Korea on the acquisition of an Australian company with a well-known luxury skincare brand.
- Advising on three separate acquisitions in Australia and one divestment for HW Richardson, a very large New Zealand based family owned business, involved in the transport and distribution of fuel and lubricants in New Zealand and Australia. Ed and his team advised on the Australian law aspects of the 100% acquisition of Pacific Petroleum by HW Richardson. Our key role included advising on obtaining FIRB approval for the acquisition of vacant land, negotiating the Share and Asset Sale Agreement, and all related completion and post completion aspects, including financial assistance ‘whitewash’ process. The transaction gives our client, fuel distribution assets in key locations all the way up the East Coast of Australia.
- Acting for HW Richardson in the sale of the Mobil oil and lubricants distribution business for the entire east coast of Australia to a purchaser from WA.
- Acting for the head company of a UK based family owned global publishing business with distribution in USA, Asia and Australia. The project involved the restructure and sale of the Australian business.
- Providing corporate and commercial advice to Weyco Group Inc in the US in the acquisition of a majority interest in the Australian licensee, Florsheim Australia Pty Ltd.
- Advising Baxters Food Group, an international family owned food manufacturing business headquartered in Fochabers, Scotland with operations in UK, Poland, Canada and Australia. Ed and his team have acted for Baxters in three acquisitions in Australia and the team have provided services across our corporate & commercial, property, employment and banking groups in a range of matters including the acquisition of complementary Australian food manufacturers and associated brands.
- Advising Dyson Group, one of Australia’s largest privately owned passenger bus companies, on the acquisition of 6 other bus operators in 6 years as part of the substantial consolidation that industry has undergone in recent years.
- Acting for transport and logistics companies in the agricultural sector including Reid Stockfeeds and Riordan’s transport.
- Acting for Husqvarna a listed public company based in Sweden in the acquisition of an Australian family owned business with unique intellectual property.
- Acting for Ronal, a global wheel manufacturer headquartered in Switzerland in its investment in Australia in the carbon wheel manufacturer, Carbon Revolution.
- Advising Syncline Energy on the development of the Melton Renewable Energy Hub (jointly with Equis), including the negotiation of development funding arrangements with a major Asian fund. Our role included drafting and negotiating all key project documentation, including corporate structuring, debt and equity arrangements and asset sale agreements.
- Advising the owners of Burson Automotive (now Bapcor) on the sale of the successful automotive aftermarket parts business, comprising 94 stores in Australia, to Quadrant Private Equity who later listed the company.
Awards and Recognition
Best Lawyers in Australia 2020-2025
Commercial Law, Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law
The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020-2024
Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions
Doyle's Guide to the Australian Legal Profession 2021-2023
Leading Business & Commercial Lawyers (Victoria)