Caroline is a Senior Associate within Simpson Grierson's Corporate Group, advising on all aspects of New Zealand corporate and commercial law and regulation.  She has been practising law since 1995. 

Caroline recently spent seven years in London where she worked for Dickson Minto WS, one of the UK's leading firms of corporate lawyers, being involved in various M&A and capital raising transactions and advising UK and European companies.  Caroline's experience includes advising some of the leading private equity funds in Europe on private equity transactions (many of which were international) as well as on a full range of corporate and regulatory issues.  Caroline previously worked as sole in-house counsel for Kiwi Co-operative Dairies Limited (which later merged with Dairy Group to become Fonterra) and so has experience advising on dairy industry issues.

Corporate Advisory

Includes advice and involvement in:

• Administration and corporate governance issues such as organising and conducting board and shareholder meetings and communicating with investors/shareholders
• Structural matters including formation, changes to capital structures, restructurings, refinancing and constitutional matters
• Syndication of equity investment
• General advice on a variety of corporate law and compliance issues

Private Equity/Venture Capital

Caroline has international experience advising on and managing high value private equity and venture capital transactions including acquisitions, disposals, reorganisations and refinancing, management buy-outs and exits, with a particular emphasis on the equity aspects of the transactions.


M&A/Commercial

• General advice on a variety of commercial issues
• Reviewing, drafting and negotiating commercial contracts (such as supply agreements, heads of terms, consultancy agreements)
• Advising businesses and individuals buying or selling assets and/or shares
• Managing, undertaking and reporting on due diligence

  Caroline's experience includes:

  • Advisor to BC Partners in respect of the equity investment management buy-out of Dometic, a worldwide group
  • Formed part of the team of advisors acting for BC Partners in respect of their equity investment in the Amadeus group alongside Cinven as part of a public to private European bid
  • Advisor to European Acquisition Capital Limited in respect of their investment in and exit from the Renaissance group (a European group), syndication of investing and funding of acquisition in Europe and ongoing corporate advice
  • Lead Senior Solicitor in respect of the equity aspects of Charterhouse Capital Partners' investment with management and others in Saga Holdings Limited in respect of the £1.35 billion acquisition of the Saga group (the UK's leading provider of products and services to the over 50s)
  • Primary adviser to Charterhouse Capital Partners in respect of the subsequent syndication of commitments in Saga Holdings Limited and establishment of a share option scheme 
  • Advisor to management in respect of further equity investment in and restructuring of the LDV group (a UK manufacturer of light commercial vehicles)
  • Advising Nexans (through their Australian advisers, Clayton Utz) in respect of their acquisition of the NZ operations of Olex (Australasia's leading power cable manufacturer and distributor) including managing and conducting the New Zealand legal due diligence
  • Acted on the acquisition by BOC Limited of Shell's New Zealand commercial LPG business
  • Provision of ongoing corporate and commercial advice following completion of the above transactions