With this sale, two of Australia's three consumer credit bureaux have joined forces
Johnson Winter Slattery (JWS), an independent Australian firm, has confirmed its role in advising Archer Capital on the ~$820m sale of illion to Experian, which was completed on 30 September.
With this transaction, two of Australia’s three consumer credit bureaux have joined forces.
JWS shared in a media release that it provided guidance on all of the deal’s legal aspects, including the process for getting competition clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
James Rozsa, corporate partner, led the JWS deal team, which consisted of Sar Katdare, partner and head of competition, and David Beckett, finance partner.
The team also included special counsel Kate Gardner and David Li; senior associates Nathan Ricardo and Morgan Blaschke-Broad; and associates Jack Morey, Alex Kench, Oscar Liu, Hannah Alcock, and Sharon Ragunathan.
More on team lead
“It will be interesting to see the development of the credit bureau market following such a significant merger, given the Commission found that it ‘may actually provide a greater competitive constraint on [the largest market participant] than if the two players continued to operate alone’,” Rozsa said in the media release.
Rozsa is a corporate lawyer who focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, and equity capital markets, according to his biography on the firm’s website. He is qualified in both Australia and the U.S.
In his practice, he has handled all aspects of domestic and cross-border M&A deals, including public takeovers and schemes of arrangements, as per his bio. He has also privately negotiated transactions and equity capital market deals, including cross-border listings on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Rozsa called it “an honour to have worked with Archer Capital and the illion management team throughout the history of this investment, and of course to have assisted long-time client Archer in another successful exit.”
Across its six offices in Australia, JWS has over 450 people, including about 85 partners. The firm focuses on mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets and handles large transactions.