Biography

    Adam is a partner in Gilbert + Tobin’s Corporate Advisory group.

    Adam specialises in acting on equity capital markets transactions and advising on Australian securities law issues. His extensive experience advising both issuers and brokers on initial public offerings and secondary raisings in Australia makes him one of the busiest capital markets lawyers in Australia. 

    Adam also regularly acts on public regulated mergers and acquisitions transactions and his practice also extends to acting on private M&A transactions as well as advising listed entities and various investors on the ASX listing rules, executive remuneration, corporate governance, shareholder activism, shareholder matters and general corporate law issues.

    Adam is a Chambers Global and Chambers Asia-Pacific ranked lawyer in the Capital Markets: Equity category, and won Capital Markets Partner of the Year at the 2021 and 2020 Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards. Best Lawyers 2021 recognises Adam in the Corporate Law, Equity Capital Markets Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law and Private Equity Law categories.

    Adam is a member of the Law Council of Australia’s Business Law Committee and is regularly involved in providing feedback to Australian governments, regulators and the ASX on new policy and legal developments.

    Prior to joining Gilbert + Tobin in 2010, Adam was a member of the mergers and acquisitions group of King & Wood Mallesons and prior to that was the associate to Justice Richard Conti of the Federal Court of Australia.

    Adam was admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales in 2006 and has a Bachelor of Laws (awarded the University Medal) and Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from the University of New South Wales.

    Highlights of Adam's ECM experience includes advising:

    • The issuers on the IPO and ASX-listings (or proposed IPOs) of SiteMinder, BlueBet, Cashrewards, MoneyMe, PropertyGuru (a CDI offering), Convenience Retail REIT, the Australian Unity Office Property Fund, Nine Entertainment Co., Mantra Group Limited, and Spotless Group Limited, as well as a number of other companies on their proposed IPOs, including Virgin Australia, Cuscal Limited Velocity Frequent Flyer, Moly-Cop, Zeema Therapeutics, Performcom, Metro Property Group, Hoyts Group and Vibrynt, Inc (a proposed CDI IPO).
    • Sigma Healthcare on its proposed reverse takeover of Chemist Warehouse and the backdoor listing of Chemist Warehouse on ASX.
    • Yancoal Australia Ltd, an ASX listed company, on the first ever dual primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and associated initial public offering (which also involved the use of an Australian rights issue).
    • The major shareholders on the IPO and ASX-listings of Global Traffic Network, Veda and Collins Foods and Briscoe Group Limited, an NZX listed company, on its dual listing on the ASX.
    • The joint lead managers/underwriters on a significant number of IPOs and ASX-listings, including Ventia Services, Chrysos Corporation, HomeCo Healthcare and Wellness REIT, HomeCo Daily Needs REIT, Newmark, StepOne, Clarity Pharmaceuticals, MyDeal.com.au, Home Consortium, Investec Australia Property Fund, Vintage Energy, Netwealth, New Energy Solar, Inghams, MYOB, Healthscope and the Costa Group.
    • The issuers on various rights issues and other secondary raisings, including those undertaken by Sigma Healthcare, AMA Group, SomnoMed Limited, SG Fleet, Pacific Smiles, United Malt Group Limited and Elixinol Global Limited Sonic Healthcare Limited (to fund its acquisition of US-based Aurora Diagnostics), Beach Energy (to fund its acquisition of Lattice Energy from Origin), Nearmap and Credit Corp.
    • The underwriters on the rights issues and other secondary capital raisings, including by Evolution Mining, APA Group, Core Lithium, AUB Group, Carsales.com.au, Ramsay Health Care Limited, Cochlear,  Newcrest Mining Limited, The Star Entertainment Group, Service Stream, Abacus Property Group, Vicinity Centres, Huon Aquaculture Limited, Qube Holdings Limited, Invocare, Somnomed, Lynas Corporation, City Chic Collective Limited, Audinate Group Limited, Home Consortium, Mincor Resources NL, Shopping Centres of Australasia Group, Kogan.com Limited, Nickel Mines Limited, Dicker Data, ELMO Software Limited, Kathmandu, EML Limited, Citadel Group, Abacus Property Group, Carnarvon Petroleum, Primary Health Care (now Healius) and Yancoal (to fund its acquisition of Coal & Allied from Rio Tinto).

    Adam has also advised on a number of “block trade” sales (including advising the major shareholder of GTN Limited on its staged sell down via block trades as well as on the $4.7 billion selldown by Caltex’s former largest shareholder, Chevron and various private equity sponsors on their block trade sales), advising Jacobs, Inc on its various selldown transactions from the stake it acquired in Worley Group as well as on capital management transactions, such as off-market buybacks as well as on securities law enforcement matters and equity derivative transactions (both in connection with securities offerings and in pre-bid stake acquisition scenarios on hostile M&A transactions).

    Adam’s M&A transactional experience includes advising:

    • ASX-listed companies and other clients undertaking material disposals, including Primary Health Care on its $155 million sale of MedicalDirector to Affinity Equity Partners and the establishment of MedicalDirector’s long-term contractual arrangements with Primary’s retained businesses in relation a new SaaS clinical management product and Ardent Leisure on the sale of the d’Albora Marinas business as well as the $80 million investment by Five V Capital into Automic.
    • On takeover defences, including by the Cashrewards Limited on the recommended takeover bid by ANZ’s innovation investment arm, 1835i, EnergyOne on its proposed acquisition by STG as well as the Responsible Entity of Generation Healthcare REIT on NorthWest Healthcare’s $500 million unsolicited takeover bid and Charter Hall Office REIT on its $1.2 billion takeover by way of trust scheme of arrangement.
    • The bidders on public M&A transactions, including Web.com and Siris Capital on its acquisition of Dreamscape Networks Limited by way of scheme of arrangement, Wilmar International Limited and First Pacific Company Limited, on their $1.9 billion acquisition of Goodman Fielder.
    • Advising major shareholders in connection with public M&A transactions, including advising Grok Ventures on a pre-bid agreement with Potentia in connection with Grok’s 12.5% shareholding in Tyro Payments Limited and in connection with Potentia’s control proposal for Tyro Payments Limited.
    • Both ASX-listed and private equity acquirers in various private M&A transactions, including Beach Energy on its acquisition of Lattice Energy from Origin Energy, CHAMP private equity on unsecured financing and warrant acquisition into Panthera and Royal Philips on its acquisition of Australian Pharmacy Sleep Services.

    Adam also works with a number of digital and technology businesses in the context of their corporate transactions including advising:

    • Automic on the $80 million investment by Five V Capital.
    • SiteMinder, the world’s leading open hotel commerce platform, servicing tens of thousands of hotels across 150 countries from offices across the globe, on it’s A$1.36 billion IPO and ASX listing.
    • Primary Health Care on the sale of Medical Director by Healius – as part of the sale process, we structured and negotiated long term contracts between Medical Director and Primary Health Care’s medical centres and diagnostic imaging businesses’ regulating the development of Medical Director’s software product and its use by those businesses.
    • Australian cashback ecosystem, Cashrewards, on its IPO and ASX listing – Cashrewards allows its members to browse brands and access cashback offers while shopping online or instore (through card-linked offers with Visa and Mastercard).
    • Velocity Frequent Flyer, the loyalty program of Virgin Australia Airways, on its potential IPO and ASX listing – a key issue in IPO preparations was Velocity’s data access from its interaction with members.
    • PropertyGuru on its potential IPO and ASX listing – PropertyGuru operates a digital property classified marketplace in Singapore and 4 other SE Asian countries.
    • ASX-listed company Nearmap on capital raisings and general corporate advice – Nearmap is a data imagery company, offering a detailed geospatial data set to its subscription-based clients.
    • web.com on its acquisition of Dreamscape Networks (Australia’s leading web presence solutions provider) and with follow on acquisitions.

    Adam has also advised on general corporate advisory matters, including acting for Ardent Leisure Group on its destapling and corporatisation transaction involving multiple schemes of arrangement and corporate restructuring.  Adam also advises various Australian and multi-national companies on their employee incentive arrangements and share plans.

    Best Lawyers 2023 names Adam as ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for Equity Capital Markets Law.

    BEST LAWYERS AUSTRALIA 2023

    Adam won Capital Markets Partner of the Year. 

    LAWYERS WEEKLY PARTNER OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2021 AND 2020

    Adam is recognised in the Corporate Law, Equity Capital Markets Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law and Private Equity Law categories. 

    BEST LAWYERS AUSTRALIA 2024

    Adam is ranked in Capital Markets: Equity and M&A

    IFLR1000 2023

    Adam is ranked for Capital Markets: Equity. 

    Chambers Asia-Pacific 2024

    Adam is ranked for Capital Markets: Equity.

    CHAMBERS GLOBAL 2024

    Adam is recognised as a Leading Individual for Capital Markets: Equity.

    THE LEGAL 500 ASIA-PACIFIC 2024

    Adam is ranked Band 2 in Capital Markets: Equity.

    THE LEGAL 500 ASIA-PACIFIC 2024

    Adam is recognised for M&A and Capital Markets: Equity and is only one of two lawyers recognised as an Asia Future Leader in this area.

    IFLR1000 2023