$332m sale greenlit by ACCC with aid from G+T

The firm provided competition law advice from the inception of the deal and throughout the two-stage review process

$332m sale greenlit by ACCC with aid from G+T

GrainCorp has cleared a major regulatory hurdle in the sale of its bulk liquid terminals in Australia with help from Gilbert + Tobin (G+T).

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approved the $332m sale of GrainCorp’s Australian Bulk Liquid Terminals business to ANZ Terminals last month, with GrainCorp agreeing to sell off its terminal at Osborne, South Australia, and to seek approval of future land acquisitions in Coode Island, Melbourne.

G+T said that its team provided competition law advice from the inception of the deal and throughout the ACCC’s two-stage review of the divestment. Competition and regulation partner Elizabeth Avery led the team, which included senior lawyer Amelia McKellar, Tim Kelly, Jacqueline Reid, Jack Coles, and graduate Neeharika Maddula.

Avery said that the clearance enables GrainCorp to “proceed with the next step of its corporate evolution.”

G+T also fielded a team to act on the earlier M&A aspects of the deal. That team was headed by partner John Williamson-Noble and included Chris Morse. They were supported by experts from the firm’s technology and digital, real estate and property, banking and infrastructure, and tax teams.

The firm said that while the transaction still awaits several conditions, including Foreign Investment Review Board approval, GrainCorp expects the divestment to complete by the end of 2019.