Chris Morse

Biography

Chris is a partner in our Corporate Advisory group.

He specialises in regulated public and private mergers and acquisitions across a range of sectors. His expertise covers schemes of arrangement, takeovers and other corporate transactions involving ASX-listed entities.

Chris also advises on equity capital markets (including IPOs, equity capital raisings and share buy-backs), joint ventures, corporate restructurings and on a range of corporate matters including corporate governance, directors’ duties, ASX Listing Rules, corporations and securities law compliance, employee incentive plans and continuous disclosure matters.

Experience

Chris’ experience includes advising:

  • Genex Power and the Genex Board in relation to its proposed $375 million acquisition by Electric Power Development Co by way of a scheme of arrangement or a simultaneous off-market takeover bid.

  • United Malt Group on its $1.5 billion acquisition by Malteries Soufflet (whose major shareholder is French agricultural cooperative, InVivo Group) by way of a scheme of arrangement.

  • Australian Clinical Labs on its $1.5 billion unsolicited all-scrip, nil premium, off-market takeover bid for Healius Limited.

  • Genex Power in relation to the approach by Skip Essential Infrastructure Fund and Stonepeak Partners regarding a potential $320 million acquisition of Genex.

  • Intega Group on its $400 million acquisition by Kiwa by way of a scheme of arrangement.

  • Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) on its $2.6 billion cash and scrip acquisition of ASX-listed Bingo Industries by way of a scheme of arrangement.

  • Infigen Energy, Australia’s largest ASX-listed renewable energy generator at the time, on the unsuccessful hostile takeover bid from UAC and the successful takeover bid from Iberdrola SA which valued Infigen at $1.4 billion.

  • United Malt Group on its $165 million capital raising by way of an institutional placement and share purchase plan in May 2020 to manage market uncertainty caused by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • GrainCorp on its $2 billion demerger of United Malt Group, the world's fourth-largest independent commercial maltster, to GrainCorp’s shareholders by way of a scheme of arrangement and ASX-listing.

  • GrainCorp on its $350 million sale of its Australian bulk liquid terminals business to ANZ Terminals.

  • GrainCorp on its successful defence of the highly geared approach by Long-Term Asset Partners (financed by Goldman Sachs and Westbourne Capital) regarding a potential $3.3 billion control transaction.

  • Life Healthcare Group Limited on its $211 million acquisition by Pacific Equity Partners by way of a scheme of arrangement.

  • Cover-More Group Limited on its $850 million acquisition by Zurich Insurance Group by way of a scheme of arrangement.

  • Cover-More Group Limited on its $75 million capital raising by way of a rights issue to partially fund its acquisition of Travelex Insurance Services.

  • SAI Global on its $1.1 billion acquisition by Baring Private Equity Asia by way of a scheme of arrangement.