Projects

Difficult and complex legal projects are our speciality.

  • Our project capabilities include:
  • Complex/difficult negotiations
  • Major procurement programmes
  • Legal drafting projects including legislative and regulatory drafting
  • Leading M&A, investment and other corporate transactions
  • Establishment of public sector and public good entities

Current and recent projects include:

  • Advising REANNZ (which operates the KAREN research and education advanced network) on the procurement of national and international high bandwidth connectivity services, including negotiating extensive dark fibre options and IRU’s with FX Networks as the successful supplier of national connectivity to REANNZ 
  • Acting for the founders of Pacific Fibre on the establishment of the company, and representing the company on its equity financing rounds 
  • Representing the Ministry of Economic Development on the development of the Food Innovation Network New Zealand (FINNZ), including assisting with the development of governance and funding arrangements for the network’s regional hubs
  • Acting for Hamilton company NetValue on the establishment of Realtime Genomics, Inc (RTG)  in San Franciso (www.realtimegenomics.com), including managing the spinout of IP and other assets from NZ to the US, acting as NZ counsel on the intial US VC financing of RTG and then acting for Net Value and other NZ investors on a second closing of the financing round 
  • Acting for Vita New Zealand Limited on the acquisiton of Pacific Brands NZ’s Home Comfort Group (including Dunlop foam, bedding and flooring businesses)
  • Acting for corporate and private investors in a number of corporate farming and property related ventures in New Zealand and Brazil
  • Acting for the Ministry of Justice on the drafting of arrangements with iwi in respect of the public foreshore and seabed under the Foreshore and Seabed Act

Before establishing Simmonds Stewart, we ran some of New Zealand’s highest profile legal projects, including:

  • Acting as Crown Negotiator in respect of the Crown’s investment in Right Hemisphere in 2006
  • Representing the Trade Me shareholders and directors on the sale to Fairfax in 2006
  • Acting for Infratil on the acquisition of Stagecoach NZ
  • Acting for The Treasury on the acquisition of the Auckland Rail Network from Tranz Rail in 2001/2
  • Acting for The Treasury on the Crown bailout of Tranz Rail in 2003 and the subsequent acquisition of the National Rail Network from Toll New Zealand in 2004
  • Managing the team that carried out all of the legal work for the establishment of Kiwibank in 2001/2 (a one year project involving over 50 lawyers)