HSF pitches in on Australia's biggest infrastructure takeover

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has guided the Sydney Aviation Alliance (SAA) consortium on the completion of a major acquisition that has been labelled Australia’s biggest infrastructure takeover.

Under the watershed deal, SAA acquires Sydney Airport for $32bn. It is also considered the largest-ever cash takeover in the country.

The EV acquisition was completed last Wednesday.

“The M&A boom in Australia continues. This deal showcases the increasing importance of superannuation funds in public company M&A as well as the increasing prevalence of consortium bids,” HSF co-lead partner Andrew Rich said.

Rich headed up the firm’s team on the transaction alongside fellow M&A partner Tony Damian. They were joined by partners Robert Bileckij, Stephen Dobbs, Erin Wakelin, Jon Evans, Patrick Gay, Matthew Fitzgerald, Adam Charles and Luke Hastings; senior adviser Robert Nicholson; consultant James Graham; executive counsel Adam Parkin; senior associates Joshua Santilli, Caitlin Walker, Lucinda Grant, Rebecca Cook and James Emmerig; and lawyers Raul Vellani, Benedict Cheung and Luxmy Chandran.

“We are incredibly proud of this milestone and the work of the Sydney Aviation Alliance and Herbert Smith Freehills teams in completing one of the most significant and complex Australian M&A deals. Sydney Airport is a world-class infrastructure asset that plays an integral role in connecting Sydney, and Australia, with the world,” Damian said.

The SAA consortium includes Australian Infrastructure Fund, AustralianSuper, Australian Retirement Trust, IFM Global Infrastructure Fund and Global Infrastructure Partners.