Bart Oude-Vrielink
|Partner

Bart is one of Australia's foremost corporate law specialists and capital markets lawyers. A partner in Minter Ellison's Private Equity and Capital Markets practice group, he has more than 25 years experience advising Australian and international public and private companies, stockbrokers and financial institutions.

Bart provides legal advice in numerous industry sectors including banking and finance, media, construction, manufacturing, mining, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

He advises on a diverse range of transactions including regulated mergers and acquisitions, global offerings, IPOs and other equity raisings, private equity raisings, privatisations / corporatisations, financial services, corporate governance & regulation, foreign investment, managed investment schemes and all forms of schemes of arrangement including insolvency related restructures.

Bart's long standing clients include Sigma Pharmaceuticals, Lazard, Gloucester Coal, Consolidated Press Holdings, Consolidated Media Holdings, Computershare, Mirvac Group, Village Roadshow, Ferrier Hodgson, Ridley Corporation, Austock Group Limited, Evans & Partners, ANZ Banking Group and Thorney Investment Group.

Recent Work

Expertise

Professional Background

Publications & Media

Baosteel/Aurizon joint off-market bid for Aquila Resources Limited

Advised Baosteel Resources Australia on its successful $1.4 billion joint off-market bid with Aurizon Operations Limited to acquire 100% of the share capital of Aquila Resources. This is the first time a Chinese and Australian company have launched a joint takeover bid.

A$1.06bn Asaleo Care Limited IPO and listing on the Australian Securities Exchange

Acted for Asaleo Care Limited and Pacific Equity Partners on Asaleo's 2014 $1.06 billion initial public offering and listing on the Australian Securities Exchange. The Company's initial public offering of shares raised approximately $655.8 million at an issue price of $1.65 per share. Asaleo Care has been admitted to the official list of ASX Limited and commenced trading of their shares on a conditional and deferred settlement basis on 27 June 2014.

A$530 million takeover of Warrnambool Cheese & Butter by Saputo Inc

Advised Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Holdings Limited (WCB) in responding to competing takeover offers from Bega Cheese (hostile), Saputo (recommended) and Murray Goulburn (unsolicited). This was one of the most vigorous auctions for control in recent Australian Corporate history, with a total of 9 bids made by the three bidders. Saputo's winning bid valued Warrnambool at approximately A$530m.

Bupa acquisition of Dental Corporation

Advised Dental Corporation Holdings Limited (Dental Corp) in relation to its A$500m acquisition by Bupa Health Pty Ltd by scheme of arrangement.

Citadel Resource Group Limited A$1.25bn takeover of Equinox Minerals

Advised ASX-listed Citadel Resource Group Limited, on the recommended A$1.25bn cash and scrip takeover offer from copper producer Equinox Minerals Limited. The deal combined Citadel's advanced Jabal Sayid copper and gold project in Saudi Arabia with Equinox's Lumwana copper project in Zambia to form a company with a potential 260,000 tonnes of copper production a year by 2015. The successful takeover launched the combined group into the mid-tier of global copper producers.

More Recent Work

Gloucester Coal merger with Yancoal Australia

Advised Gloucester Coal on its A$8bn merger with Yanzhou Coal Mining and its wholly owned subsidiary Yancoal Australia by scheme of arrangement. This was the biggest investment by a Chinese state-owned company in Australia's coal industry, continuing a trend of state-backed entities seeking to shore up China's resource security. It created one of Australia's largest listed mining companies, operating mines in NSW and Queensland and with investments in two coal export terminals – Wiggins Island in Gladstone and NCIG in Newcastle.

Healthscope acquisition by TPG/Carlyle

Advised Healthscope in its A$2.7bn takeover by scheme of arrangement by private equity consortium Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and The Carlyle Group. The recommended offer was the culmination of an intense bidding war between a number of private equity groups. Given the bidding duel, the transaction dynamics and strategies changed regularly and quickly. Minter Ellison had a key advisory role and were able to provide urgent and constant strategic and legal input as required in the bidding process.

Mirvac sale of its hotel management business

Advised listed A-REIT Mirvac on the sale of its hotel management business, Mirvac Hotels & Resorts and various associated investments to a consortium comprising Accor Asia Pacific and Singapore-based Ascendas. The complex transaction involved the concurrent sale of the hotel management business and the stake in an unlisted hotel fund which will see Accor take on the management of 48 hotels and also acquire, with Ascendas, a stake in an unlisted Mirvac hotel fund that owns seven properties.

White Cloud acquisition of Careers Australia

Advised White Cloud Capital Advisors on the A$61 million acquisition of the 54.8% share in Careers Australia Group. In a fast moving and complex takeover involving a rival bidder, our team had to assist White Cloud to present Careers Australia Group with a strategy to terminate the Bid Implementation Deed between Careers Australia Group and Crescent Capital Partners to enable Careers Australia Group's independent directors to recommend the White Cloud bid. This took White Cloud's share in Careers Australia to 100%.

Sale of pharmaceuticals arm to Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd

Advising Sigma Pharmaceuticals on the A$900m takeover offer from South African Aspen Pharmacare. The pharmaceuticals division includes Sigma’s generics, consumer, over-the-counter, Herron, ethical products, medical products, Orphan and manufacturing businesses. Sigma will retain its healthcare division, which incorporates its wholesale and retail businesses. This transaction is the largest overseas asset purchase by an African company in three years. The proposed sale is subject to a number of conditions, including shareholder approval, lender approval, regulatory approval and preparation of definitive sale documentation.