Debevoise, Ashurst and KWM advise on $2.3bn Anglo-Australian life insurance deal
The sale comes after a recent public inquiry in Australia into misconduct by dozens of the nation's financial services providers
November 01, 2018 at 01:53 PM
2 minute read
By John Kang
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
AMP Ltd.'s building in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. (Photo: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg)
Ashurst, King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) and Debevoise & Plimpton are leading on London-based Resolution Life Group Holdings' $2.3bn (£1.8bn) acquisition of Australian wealth management firm AMP Ltd's Australia and New Zealand life insurance division.
Resolution Life will pay AMP A$1.9bn (£1bn) in cash, A$300m (£166m) in shares and an A$1.1 bn (£611m) noncash consideration in the UK company. The company said the noncash consideration will include "economic interest in future earnings from the mature business".
The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals in Australia and New Zealand.
Debevoise Hong Kong partner Edwin Northover is leading a cross-border team advising Resolution Life and is supported by corporate partner Alan Davies and finance partner Thomas Smith in London, and corporate partner Alexander Cochran in New York.
Ashurst is also advising Resolution Life, led by Melbourne partner Con Tzerefos. He is supported by Sydney partners Lisa Simmons on regulatory aspects, Jamie Ng on finance matters, and Rehana Box and Emanuel Poulos on insurance matters.
Melbourne partner Andrew Harpur is giving disputes advice, Stuart D'Aloisio is providing advice on intellectual property matters, Emma Butler is advising on technology, media and telecom aspects, Jane Harvey on employment matters, Jason Cornwall-Jones on the property aspects, and Brisbane partner Amanda Ludlow on technology, media and telecom matters.
King & Wood Mallesons Sydney partner Jason Watts is leading a team advising AMP, supported by mergers and acquisitions partners Nathan Hodge, Henrik Moritz, Patrick Gunning, Daniel Natale and employment partner Andrew Gray, all also based in Sydney.
New Zealand firm Chapman Tripp's Auckland partners Roger Wallis and Tim Tubman are advising AMP on New Zealand law.
AMP's sale of its life insurance unit comes after a recent public inquiry in Australia into misconduct by dozens of the nation's financial services providers. AMP was the the worst hit by the inquiry, according to Reuters, as it had to set aside cash to compensate customers for bad advice and its bottom line suffered as a result of people withdrawing money amid the investigation, while its chairwoman and chief executive also stepped down.
The inquiry has created a high volume of work for law firms, including for King & Wood Mallesons, which is under investigation by Australian authorities for allegedly overworking lawyers and staff in its Melbourne office.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All![X Ordered to Release Data by German Court Amid Election Interference Concerns X Ordered to Release Data by German Court Amid Election Interference Concerns](https://images.law.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=contain/https://images.law.com/international-edition/contrib/content/uploads/sites/392/2023/10/AdobeStock_627004176_Editorial_Use_Only-767x633.jpg)
X Ordered to Release Data by German Court Amid Election Interference Concerns
![Compliance With the EU's AI Act Lags Behind as First Provisions Take Effect Compliance With the EU's AI Act Lags Behind as First Provisions Take Effect](https://images.law.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=contain/https://k2-prod-alm.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/brightspot/25/7d/54707a6b409ca288c02206e94940/eu-artificial-intelligence-act-767x633.jpg)
Compliance With the EU's AI Act Lags Behind as First Provisions Take Effect
![Quinn Emanuel's Hamburg Managing Partner and Four-Lawyer Team Jump to Willkie Farr Quinn Emanuel's Hamburg Managing Partner and Four-Lawyer Team Jump to Willkie Farr](https://images.law.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=contain/https://k2-prod-alm.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/brightspot/fa/c2/5b8749a84b7eb919caed3ca3d306/quinn-emanuel-urquhart-sullivan-office-sign-washington-13-767x633.jpg)
Quinn Emanuel's Hamburg Managing Partner and Four-Lawyer Team Jump to Willkie Farr
![Trump ICC Sanctions Condemned as ‘Brazen Attack’ on International Law Trump ICC Sanctions Condemned as ‘Brazen Attack’ on International Law](https://images.law.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=contain/https://images.law.com/international-edition/contrib/content/uploads/sites/392/2023/11/Trump-Donald-White-House-2019-029-767x633-1.jpg)
Trump ICC Sanctions Condemned as ‘Brazen Attack’ on International Law
Trending Stories
- 1ACC CLO Survey Waves Warning Flags for Boards
- 2States Accuse Trump of Thwarting Court's Funding Restoration Order
- 3Microsoft Becomes Latest Tech Company to Face Claims of Stealing Marketing Commissions From Influencers
- 4Coral Gables Attorney Busted for Stalking Lawyer
- 5Trump's DOJ Delays Releasing Jan. 6 FBI Agents List Under Consent Order
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250