Lane Neave advises on $150m trans-Tasman acquisition

Lane Neave advised on the New Zealand aspects of Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific’s acquisition of CSG Limited.

The firm’s team on the $150m acquisition was headed by partner Joelle Grace, who said that Lane Neave was well-placed to assist the Australian advisers of the major trans-Tasman deal.

“Acting alongside the Australian and Japanese legal advisors, we undertook due diligence in relation to the New Zealand business and advised on the New Zealand corporate and commercial aspects of the deal, including contractual, property and financing arrangements,” Grace said.

CSG’s Australian legal counsel was MinterEllison, while its financial adviser was Moelis Australia.

The sale was approved by CSG shareholders and the Supreme Court of New South Wales earlier this month. The deal, which involved CSG transferring all of its issued shares on the ASX to Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific, was completed on Wednesday.

CSG provides printing equipment and IT services for offices of nearly 10,000 client companies in Australia and New Zealand. Founded in 1988 in Darwin, it had sales of about Aus$218m in fiscal 2019.

In addition to the CSG acquisition, Lane Neave recently advised on the $180m sale of three large retirement villages from Sanderson Group to Arvida, the sale of Harrington Breweries to Lion, and the acquisition of Solid Energy New Zealand mining assets by BT Mining.