David Eterovic

|Partner

David is at the forefront of Australian acquisition finance practice, leading teams and providing strategic and debt financing advice on more than 120 acquisitions and acquisition financings. Acting for banks, corporations and private equity funds, David has extensive experience across privatisations, takeovers, trade sales, vendor finance, limited recourse acquisition financings and leveraged finance. Recent acquisition deals include the
syndicated senior debt financings for Affinity Equity Partners' acquisitions of Tegel Foods in NZ and Primo Foods in Australia, the syndicated bank financing for Australian Unity on its acquisition of Westpac Funds Management, and the refinancing of Elders on its full acquisition of Plexicor and divestment of Rural Bank.

In the energy and infrastructure sector, David has advised on numerous limited recourse acquisition financings, acting for clients such as AGL, Singapore Power, PowerGen, Duke Energy, Standard Poor's, JP Morgan, Westpac and Bank of America.

He has also acted in many public company takeover financing deals including takeovers of Hardman Resources, Colorado Group and Grand Hotel Group.

One of Australia’s leading corporate finance lawyers, David acts for major financiers, corporates and private equity funds in a wide range of syndicated, leveraged and other debt capital markets transactions as well as complex debt restructures. He has acted on more than 120 acquisitions and acquisition financings spanning public company takeovers, private treaty sales, vendor finance, limited recourse privatisations and private equity finance. Recent deals include: the syndicated senior debt financings for Affinity Equity Partners' acquisitions of Tegel Foods and Primo Smallgoods; a highly successful listed retail bond issue for Australian Unity; the syndicated bank financing for Australian Unity's acquisition of Westpac Funds Management's Diversified Property Fund; several refinancings of Elders and refinancings of Skilled Group Ltd, Momentive Specialty Chemicals, McJunkin Red Man Corporation and Norfolk Group.

David brings recognised finance expertise to his strong Australian debt capital markets practice. He has acted on numerous listed and unlisted convertible note, quasi-equity and debt capital markets transactions. He has acted for issuers in both the traditional and Rule 144A US private placements and also advised mutuals, former co-operatives and other capital constrained entities on novel capital raisings. They include a novel ASX listed non-share equity issue, Australia's first rated domestic subordinated corporate bond issue and, most recently, Australian Unity's highly successful $120m rated and listed retail bond issue.

David brings recognised expertise in banking and finance law to his leading practice in complex debt restructuring and work-outs. His experience includes advising the syndicate of senior lenders on the restructuring (including AIM re-listing) of Healthcare Locums, a major Australian bank on its various exposures to Centro, senior lenders on restructuring and realising the assets of Allco SIF and Coles Group on restructuring its vendor financing arrangements with FoodWorks. He also provided restructuring advice to Sigma Pharmaceuticals and the Elders group, including the latter group’s restructure and exit from its residual vendor financing claims in Air International Thermal.

David has led or co-led some of Australia’s largest power industry acquisitions. He has acted for clients such as AGL, Singapore Power, PowerGen, Duke Energy, Aurora Energy, Westpac and Bank of America on acquisition or project financings in the content of privatisations or trade sales of electricity businesses. David has also advised on complex derivative products and offtake arrangements, including electricity trading and hedging contracts.

David led or co-led Minter Ellison teams on many energy industry acquisitions. In electricity, he acted on the acquisition financings of established power plant, transmission and distribution businesses (both privatisations and trade sales) for clients such as AGL, Singapore Power, PowerGen, Duke Energy, JP Morgan, Standard & Poor's, Westpac and Bank of America. In the gas industry, he advised on the acquisitions and financing of the Queensland gas pipeline, the Eastern Gas Pipeline and the Tasmanian Gas Pipeline as well as privatisations and trade sales of established gas distribution and retail businesses.

In the resources sector, David has advised on the A$1.47 billion takeover financing for Tullow Oil’s acquisition of Hardman Resources by scheme of arrangement. He advised project financiers to the Kwale Minerals Project on the powers and authorities of Australia's Export Finance and Insurance Corporation to issue various credit supports. He acted for voluntary administrators of the Pasminco Group on its restructure and financings and he advised SEASAF on its proposed acquisition of the senior debt project financing and recapitalisation for the Rapu-Rapu polymetallic mine in the Philippines.

Internationally recognised as a leading banking and finance lawyer, David has led legal teams and provided strategic and debt financing advice on more than 120 acquisitions and acquisition financings. David regularly acts for three of Australia's four big banks as well as major corporations and private equity funds on their debt refinancing and issuance, debt restructures and acquisition financing.

Recent transactions include the syndicated senior debt financing for Affinity Equity Partners' acquisitions of Tegel Foods in New Zealand and Primo Smallgoods in Australia; a $120m listed retail bond issue for the mutual Australian Unity; the syndicated bank financing for Australian Unity's acquisition of Westpac Funds Management’s Diversified Property Fund, and several refinancings of Elders Ltd.

David is a frequent presenter and commentator on Australian and international financial sector regulatory developments, particularly since the global financial crisis. This has included recent presentations on the Basel III guidelines and other work of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, proposals by expert commissions of inquiry in Switzerland and the UK addressing the 'Too Big to Fail' dilemma and on the state of restructuring in Australia.

David has advised extensively on the project finance of social and economic infrastructure. These include pipelines, electricity and gas transmission and distribution assets, brown coal and gas-fired power stations, the Melbourne Convention Centre, the Crown Casino project, and Docklands Stadium. David’s expertise in the field is recognised with Expert Guides rating him as one of the world’s leading project finance lawyers.

David has extensive involvement in complex debt reconstructions and work-outs. This includes advising a major Australian bank on its various exposures to Centro, acting on several debt restructures of the Colorado group, advising senior lenders on reconstructing their exposure to Allco SIF and the subsequent realisation of those assets and advising the syndicate of senior lenders on the restructuring (including AIM re-listing) of Healthcare Locums.

David has acted for major domestic and international banks, financiers and private equity funds on headline acquisition finance and refinancing deals as well as significant debt restructures. He advised on one of the few executed hostile public company takeovers in Australia by a private equity firm and recently handled the syndicated senior debt financings for Affinity Equity Partners' acquisitions of Tegel Foods and Primo Smallgoods. His more than 120 acquisitions and acquisition finance transactions include P2Ps, private treaty sales, vendor finance and other leveraged deals.

One of Australia’s foremost finance lawyers, David has acted for major domestic and international banks, financiers and private equity funds on numerous headline acquisition finance and refinancing deals as well as significant debt restructures. He advised on one of the few executed hostile public company takeovers in Australia by a private equity firm, and more recently handled the >NZ$300m syndicated senior debt financing for Affinity Equity Partners' acquisition of Tegel Foods and the >A$500m syndicated senior debt financing for Affinity's acquisition of Primo Smallgoods. He has completed more than 120 acquisitions and acquisition finance transactions including public company takeovers, private treaty sales, vendor finance and other leveraged deals.

Independently named as one of the world's leading project finance lawyers, David has advised on numerous project financings and limited recourse acquisition financings. His financing deals in energy sector projects include brown coal and gas-fired power stations, electricity transmission and distribution, downstream gas pipelines and gas distribution businesses. He has also advised on the financing of projects such as the Melbourne Convention Centre, Melbourne Crown Casino and Docklands Stadium.