Adani’s acquisition of Linc Energy's coal tenements

Corrs advised Adani Group (India's largest coal importer) on its acquisition of Linc Energy's coal tenements: reported as the largest single investment by an Indian company in Australia with the deal worth as much as US$2.7 billion.

A key feature was the speed with which it was undertaken (less than a week from announcement to completion).

Underlying changes in tenure arrangements added to the complexity of the deal and necessitated a fast response to ensure issues were properly identified, advised and addressed by completion date.

Corrs advised on all aspects of the transaction including legal due diligence and negotiation and drafting of all transaction documents, including the Asset Sale Agreement and Overriding Royalty Agreement.

Andean Resources

When Goldcorp Inc acquired Andean Resources for $C3.6 billion, it was a complex cross border transaction involving a dual listed target and bidder. This required compliance with Australian and Canadian securities, disclosure and mining standards and dealing with Australia, Canadian, US and Argentinean regulators. Working with legal teams in Canada, Corrs completed the agreement in only four days, trumping unsolicited and hostile proposals in what was one of the world’s largest gold mining takeovers in 2010.

MCC's Cape Lambert and Cape Preston iron ore projects

Advising on all aspects from project feasibility study, approvals and native title, Corrs is the exclusive legal adviser to China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) on its key investment in Western Australia.

MCC is one of China’s largest state-owned enterprises and was advised by Corrs on the $400 million acquisition of Cape Lambert Iron Ore Limited’s iron ore project in the Pilbara. Corrs is also advising MCC on the $3.7 billion development of that project and the US$6.1 billion Cape Preston project, reinforcing the firm’s position at the forefront of Australia’s iron ore sector development.

Straits Demerger

The separation of Straits’ metals business into a new ASX listed company, Straits Metals, created an exciting new gold and copper focused metals business.

The demerger was followed by the $550 million takeover of Straits (which then only held the coal business) by a subsidiary of PTT International Company Ltd. Corrs teams from nine technical disciplines advised on all aspects of both transactions under extremely tight deadlines. This included disclosure issues, takeovers law, the sale and purchase of the metals business, court procedures for the scheme of arrangement for the takeover, and the renegotiation of Straits financing arrangements.

Yanzhou Coal

Managing disclosures on three stock exchanges, obtaining approvals in two countries and overcoming significant language and cultural differences were key challenges when Corrs advised on the biggest ever Chinese deal in the Australian coal sector.

Its client Yanzhou Coal became the first Chinese state-owned enterprise to acquire 100% of an Australian listed company through the A$3.5 billion acquisition of Felix Resources. The deal was innovative as it featured an undertaking by Yanzhou Coal to list Yancoal Australia on the Australian Securities Exchange by no later than the end of 2012, thereby guaranteeing public ownership.

The implementation of the transaction involved managing disclosures on three key stock exchanges - ASX, Shanghai and Hong Kong. A tight timeframe of only four months was met, even though all documents had to be translated and there were significant language and cultural differences that the team had to overcome.