Michael is a corporate finance law expert with 20 years of experience helping clients put together and execute corporate deals. He is passionate about helping clients solve problems, deliver their most important corporate transactions and achieve commercial success by minimising risk, avoiding unnecessary delay, aggravation and expense and by simplifying the complexity that is usually inherent in corporate finance and commercial deals.

Michael is the advisor you need at your disposal when you are negotiating with financiers, raising funding, putting together an important corporate transaction that must succeed or negotiating a workout, restructure or funding solution with lenders.

Michael has acted for every major Australian bank and many regional banks, guarantors, private equity investors, business owners and deal-makers. He is known for his pragmatic approach and acute focus on clients’ goals and deadlines. Conversant with industry terminology and having worked in the internal legal teams of two major Australian banks, Michael brings a deep understanding of market practice, practical regulatory requirements and the funding/risk appetite of most lenders.

Michael’s expertise covers the entire finance and debt life-cycle.

When it gets tough, Michael is also the go-to advisor for negotiating workouts and forbearances for struggling borrowers. He knows what it takes for borrowers to keep faith with financiers and find unique solutions that satisfy all parties, without resort to litigation.

Michael’s deal experience spans all industries including manufacturing, energy and resources, property development, commercial property, mining services, financial services, labour hire, retail, agribusiness, hospitality and gaming, and motor vehicle dealerships.

In addition to transactional finance work, Michael advises across corporate finance compliance including complying with the National Consumer Credit Protection Act, Personal Property Securities Act, Banking Code of Practice, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act, Privacy Act, Australian Consumer Law and other relevant legislation. He has prepared credit code compliant suites of documents and manuals as well other standard form documentation for use by specialist lenders and receivables financiers. He has also prepared credit terms for use by trade suppliers.

Michael also sits on the Queensland Law Society Banking and Financial Services Committee and is also a member of the Banking and Financial Services Law Association.

Expertise

• Negotiation and documentation of innovative deal structures including joint ventures, development agreements, profit share arrangements, shareholders and unitholders agreements to satisfy project funding requirements whilst mitigating risk and revenue issues
• Negotiation, structuring and documentation of finance deals including combinations of debt, equity, and mezzanine debt
• Negotiation and documentation of bilateral financial transactions, syndications, participations, clubs and other complex inter-creditor arrangements.
• Advising borrowers and lenders in relation to restructures, workouts, forbearances, asset management agreements, secured recoveries, receiverships, external administrations and mortgagee sales.

Example Engagements

• Acting for owner of commercial property portfolio including office towers, mixed use commercial properties and shopping centres in a series of bilateral and multilateral transactions to refinance the portfolio with various Australian and foreign banks. The aggregate transaction value was in excess of $800 million. This included negotiating and implementing complex priority arrangements between the respective financiers.
• Acting for borrower to negotiate $160 million club facility with major banks to fund fleet of rental vehicles and provide finance for future acquisitions.
• Acting for the aggregator of numerous mining services businesses as a precursor to an IPO of the consolidated business. Negotiation of finance documentation on behalf of the parent borrower with the senior, mezzanine and subordinated financiers (including vendors of the target entities) and inter-creditor arrangements. Management of the whitewashing arrangements with respect to financial assistance being provided by the target entities.
• Acting for syndicate of Australian banks in loan of $165 million to REIT including taking security over a major metropolitan shopping centre.
• Acting for Australian bank in respect of restructure and re-documentation of facilities in excess of $100 million for significant agribusiness customer. Taking security over diverse corporate group and properties including feedlots, water rights and livestock.
• Acting for mezzanine financier with respect to financing the acquisition of a diverse tourism enterprise by ASX listed entity. Prepared facility documents and advised financier with respect to inter-creditor arrangements and other transaction documents. The transaction encompassed senior facilities, mezzanine facilities documented by way of loan notes and subordinated vendor finance arrangements.
• Acting for financiers in numerous property development finance transactions including senior financiers and mezzanine financiers including documentation, presale due diligence and priority arrangements on developments ranging in value from $2 million to $400 million.