Chris Morse

Partner
Sydney

Biography

Chris is a partner in our Corporate Advisory group.

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

His practice includes equity capital markets work (including IPOs, equity capital raisings and share buy-backs), advising on joint ventures and corporate restructurings, and advising on a range of corporate matters including corporate governance, directors’ duties, ASX Listing Rule and corporations and securities law compliance, employee incentive plans, and continuous disclosure matters.

Experience

Chris’ experience includes advising:

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

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

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

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

  • Intega Group Limited 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 Limited 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 “friendly” takeover bid from Iberdrola SA (which valued Infigen at ~$1.4 billion).

  • United Malt Group Limited 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 Limited 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 Limited on its ~$350 million sale of its Australian bulk liquid terminals business to ANZ Terminals.

  • GrainCorp Limited 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.

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