Deborah Johns

Biography

Deborah is a partner in our Corporate Advisory group.

She is a standout figure in the legal industry, known for her exceptional skills in investment funds, venture capital and work with the Foreign Investment Review Board. Clients praise her for her specialist expertise, especially in setting up venture capital and private equity funds, continuation funds, managing funding rounds for both investors and start-ups and navigating Australia’s complex foreign investment regime. She has also advised a range of government and private clients on long-term, complicated joint venture arrangements in Australia and internationally.   

Prior to joining G+T, Deborah worked in the Hong Kong office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, a large New York-based firm, representing clients in venture capital transactions, direct foreign investment, strategic partnerships, and project finance throughout Asia and in particular in the PRC, Taiwan, and India. This included a series of venture capital financings by StarTV, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, to name a few. She has also worked in the Chicago and Shanghai offices of former Chicago-based firm Altheimer & Gray. 

Deborah sits on the Law Council’s Foreign Investment Committee, the AIC’s Legal and Tax Working Group and facilitates the AIC’s VC101 sessions, and also edits the G+T's Foreign Investment Guide and Doing Business in Australia guides. 

Experience

Deborah’s experience includes advising:

  • Several fund managers (including Adamantem, Blackbird Ventures, OneVentures, Airtree Ventures, Brandon Capital, Square Peg, IFM Investors, Main Sequence, King River Capital, Co:Act Capital, Virescent Ventures, King River Capital and more) in connection with the establishment of their recent private equity or venture capital funds.

  • Numerous Australian, US and European private equity funds (many of which are deemed to be foreign persons or even foreign government investors because of their investor bases) and other foreign investors in connection with foreign investment approvals required for both direct and indirect acquisitions of Australian businesses and exemption certificates - including I Squared, Crescent Capital Partners, Quadrant Private Equity, The Carlyle Group, TPG Capital, Oaktree Capital, Rubicon Technology Partners, various Canadian pension funds and others, including in relation to highly sensitive sectors like healthcare, defence and data handling.

  • Brandon Capital Partners and OneVentures each in connection with the winding up of their early funds and establishment of continuation vehicles;

  • Tennis Australia on the establishment of its venture capital funds, Wildcard Ventures Fund I and AO Startups.

  • 1835i, the newly created independent venture capital and incubator arm of ANZ on its spinout from ANZ.

  • OneVentures on its continuation fund for Employment Hero pursuant to which it transferred interests held by its Fund II and associated investors into a continuation fund.

  • Blackbird Ventures with respect to its $100m partial secondary sale of portfolio companies to Stepstone and HESTA - the first major GP led secondary sale of portfolio interests by an Australian venture capital fund.

  • King River Capital in connection with the establishment of a Cayman Islands digital assets fund.

  • Prosegur in connection with its sale to and investment in Linfox Armaguard.

  • Athena Home Loans in connection with a strategic investment by REA.

  • Reinventure in connection with the establishment of co-investment vehicles and investments into companies in New Zealand and Australia.

  • King River Capital in connection with several investments into Australian companies.

Awards and Recognition

  • The Best Lawyers Australia 2025

    ‘Lawyer of the Year’ Venture Capital

  • The Best Lawyers Australia 2024

    ‘Lawyer of the Year’ Fund Management

  • The Best Lawyers Australia 2023

    ‘Lawyer of the Year’ Venture Capital

  • Chambers Asia-Pacific 2024

    Ranked Band 2 for Investment Funds

  • Chambers Global 2024

    Spotlight: Foreign Investment