Firms advise on debut M&A for Aussie tech unicorn

Lawyers from Allens and Herbert Smith Freehills have advised their clients on a landmark deal for an Australian technology firm.

Canva, which became a ‘unicorn’ in January when it achieved a $1 billion valuation, has made its first acquisition; the cloud-based presentation firm Zeetings.

Canva is a long-term client of Allens’ tech start-up focused legal practice Allens Accelerate, and the firm advised on all aspects of the deal including the transaction documents, sale structure and completion deliverables.

M&A partner Chris Blane led the deal, supported by senior and associate and co-headd of Allens Accelarate Elyse Adams.

“The deal is indicative of the evolution of Australia's startup and scaleup market. It's no longer rare for Australian startups to achieve that level of market status, and we're seeing many of our Accelerate clients reach significant scale, making them viable and competitive in the market,” commented Ms. Adams.

Zeetings was advised by Herbert Smith Freehills, with a team led by Malika Chandrasegaran who officially becomes a partner on 1st May 2018. She was supported by venture and PE expert, partner Raji Azzam.

Blackmores acquired 100% of the shares of Catalent Australia Holding Pty Ltd, a division of US-headquartered firm Catalent Inc. as part of a strategy to future-proof its Asian business.

The JWS team was led by corporate partner Jeremy Davis, assisted by corporate, tax, IP and employment teams.

Catalent was advised by K&L Gates.

The firm, which has offices in Asia Pacific, says that individuals are operating the entities which claim to offer “debt negotiation” in the British Virgin Islands. They have unlawfully copied the design, logo, graphics, and information architecture of the Harney’s Fiduciary website.

“This business and its representatives are not authorised by or in any way connected with Harneys, Harneys Fiduciary, our employees or agents,” the firm says in a statement.