Don Holborow

Don is a partner in the firm's corporate group. He is a specialist corporate, securities, and M&A lawyer. He also practices in the technology ICT area.

Don co-heads the firm's equity capital markets group. His wide-ranging corporate expertise includes takeovers, securities issuance, corporate restructuring, and compliance. He acts for all types of participants in the capital markets, including listed companies, major institutional investors, and fund managers.

Don is a leading adviser on ICT outsourcing and procurement and heads the firm's Wellington ICT team. The team's strong record of achievement ranges from assisting in procurement process design and RFI/RFP stages to contract negotiations and finding commercial solutions to project problems.

• Asialaw Leading Lawyers Guide Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions 2018 - Leading Lawyer
• Chambers Asia-Pacific Corporate/Commercial 2016 - Recommended Lawyer
• Asia Pacific Legal 500 Corporate/M&A 2016 - Recommended Lawyer
• IFLR 1000 Capital Markets 2016 - Leading Lawyer
• The International Who's Who Legal Mining 2015 - Leading Lawyer
• Asialaw Leading Lawyers Capital Markets 2013 - Recommended Lawyer

Examples of Work

• New Zealand Oil & Gas – partial takeover offers from Zeta Energy ($42 million) and OGOG ($85 million)
  
• Mohawk Industries – New Zealand aspects of its acquisition of the Godfrey Hirst group
• New Zealand Oil & Gas - sale of its 15% interest in the Kupe gas, LPG and condensate fields to Genesis Energy for $168 million and $100 million return of capital to shareholders by court-approved scheme of arrangement
• Mercantile Investment Company - full takeover of NZSX listed company, Wellington Merchants (previously Kirkcaldie & Stains)
• Brew Strong - sale of the Panhead Custom Ales business to the Lion Group
• nib holdings - New Zealand aspects of its acquisition of World Nomads Group for A$95 million
• Inland Revenue - providing legal support in relation to its business transformation programme, including the procurement process for primary programme support
• Genuine Parts Company - New Zealand aspects of the US$950 million acquisition of Exego Group (owner of the Repco chain)
• Guinness Peat Group - $158 million return of capital to shareholders by shareholder-approved scheme of arrangement, and capital note issues and rollovers, ranging from $215 million to $350 million (total of $815 million raised)
• OceanaGold Corporation - C$93.3 million "bought deal" equity raising, $107 million public offer of subscription receipts, and redomicile to Canada and C$90 million securities offering
• New Zealand Oil & Gas - $100m recapitalisation of Pike River Coal (including interim funding, placement/rights issue participation and convertible notes totalling NZ$60 million)
• Agria Corporation (a NYSE listed Chinese agriculture business) - $120 million investment in PGG Wrightson as part of a $250 million capital raising, and associated strategic co-operation agreement
• Haier Group Corporation - $80 million investment in cornerstone shareholding in Fisher & Paykel Appliances and associated co-operation agreement
• Bureau Veritas - New Zealand aspects of A$146 million acquisition of Amdel (including NZ Labs)
• Inland Revenue - KiwiSaver implementation, mainframe outsourcing to EDS, telecommunications outsourcing to Telstra, document imaging project, call centre projects, and desktop outsourcing project
• Land Information New Zealand - Landonline development projects with IBM
• Ministry for the Environment - Carbon Accounting System
• Various councils and tertiary institutions - technology projects including financial and document management systems, and facilities management outsourcing

Other Credentials

• Government Review of the Overseas Investment Act - Technical Reference Group member
• Listed Companies Association - Executive Committee member for 10 years
  
• NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal - Member for 9 years
• NZX Legal and Regulatory Advisory Board - Member
  
• Orchestra Wellington – Board member and chair for 7 years