The transaction involved the acquisition of a majority stake in the startup by a private equity investment firm
Hall & Wilcox and Gilbert + Tobin (G+T) have advised on the acquisition of a majority stake in smartphone mount startup Quad Lock by private equity investment firm Quadrant Growth Fund.
Hall & Wilcox advised Quad Lock founders Rob Ward and Chris Peters, while G+T advised Quadrant.
Founded in 2011 in Melbourne, Quad Lock has rolled out its patented smartphone mounting systems to over 100 countries. With Quadrant on board, Quad Lock will be able to “scale up and increase its presence in the global market,” Hall & Wilcox said.
“We felt now was a great time to bring on a partner to further accelerate our growth with both knowhow and capital. Quadrant understood our approach from the first meeting, and we can’t wait to get to work building Quad Lock into an even better business with a broader product range,” Ward said.
Quadrant investment director Louise Haslehurst said that the company was looking forward to providing capital to speed up Quad Lock’s “product range expansion and continued international growth.”
“Quad Lock has experienced incredible growth in recent years due to the team’s continued focus on innovation and new product development,” she said.
Ward praised the Hall & Wilcox team for its adaptability in completing the deal in the current landscape.
“The deal was done during lockdown, and the Hall & Wilcox team didn't miss a beat adapting to the changing conditions,” Ward said.
The firm said that its multidisciplinary team had assisted on all aspects of the deal, including “legal due diligence, deal structuring, negotiating the sale agreement and the shareholders’ deed for the ongoing management of the business.” The team was led by partner Oliver Jankowsky and senior associate Chevi Levin; they were supported by partner Deborah Chew and lawyers David Holland and James Fisher.
Partner Mark Inston, senior associate Jeanette Lui and lawyer Tammy Qu from the banking and finance team were part of the team as well, alongside partner Alison Baker and lawyer Nhu-Thuy Dinh from the employment team, partner Matthew Curll from the insurance team and partner Ben Hamilton and lawyer Tamara Charlwood from the IP team.
“We were thrilled to advise Quad Lock, which is a great success story. Led by two passionate founders, Rob and Chris, they are a small Australian ‘backyard’ company which has gone global. The investment by Quadrant will allow them to grow into an even better business with a bigger and broader product range,” Jankowsky said.
Meanwhile, corporate advisory partner David Josselsohn helmed G+T’s team, which advised Quadrant on all aspects of the deal including structuring, due diligence and debt financing. The multidisciplinary team comprised lawyers from the firm’s corporate advisory and banking and infrastructure practice groups.
Josselsohn was supported by lawyers Elizabeth Cameron, Ashleigh Kern, Alexandra Meade and Annabel Kirkby. Banking and infrastructure partner Gail Christopher took the lead on the debt financing aspect, supported by lawyers Elizabeth Athanassios and James Soussa.
Additional assistance was provided by specialists such as IP partners John Lee and Lisa Lennon and lawyers Vanessa Farago-Diener, Joanna Tsaprounis, Mindaugas Skavronskas, Paige Bisset, Michelle Xu and Simone Hall.
“We are pleased to have advised our long-time client Quadrant with this transaction and are excited to watch Quad Lock’s growth and development under their partnership with the founders,” Josselsohn said.
