John specialises in corporate, contract and securities law and mergers & acquisitions.
John advises clients on corporatisation and privatisation exercises, including M&A deals and initial public offerings (IPO). He has also been at the legal forefront of the development of the private equity investment industry in New Zealand, and acts for a number of domestic and offshore private equity investors.
John co-heads Chapman Tripp's China desk, which coordinates the firm’s efforts and advice related to investment and trade between China and New Zealand.
He is a board member of Skellerup.
John is consistently listed as a leading lawyer in corporate & commercial and M&A by independent legal directories. He is ranked as the only Star Individual in corporate/commercial in New Zealand in Chambers Asia Pacific 2020 and Chambers Global 2020. IFLR1000 2020 ranked him as a Market Leader in M&A and equity capital markets, and he is recognised as a leading individual for corporate and M&A in Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020. He is also recognised in Legal Media Group's Guide to the World’s Leading Private Equity Lawyers and Guide to the World’s Leading M&A Lawyers.
John was named New Zealand Dealmaker of the Year at the 2019 Australasian Law Awards.
Recent experience
John has advised:
- on Merino wool clothing retailer Icebreaker's sale to US-based VF Corporation, which owns The North Face, Timberland and Vans
- WSP Global on its full takeover of New Zealand infrastructure company, Opus International Consultants
- The McConnell family on the sale of Hawkins construction to Downer EDI
- Waterman Capital on its acquisition of My Food Bag, the leading New Zealand “food bag” supplier
- Pencarrow Private Equity on the sale of 100% of the shares in Brewgroup Limited (formerly Bell Tea & Coffee) to Jacobs Douwe Egberts AU Pty Ltd
- Direct Capital on the sale of its shareholding in Transaction Services Group, a NZ-based global payment provider, to US-based Calera Capital
- Academic Colleges Group, New Zealand’s largest private education provider, on its sale of funds associated with Pacific Equity Partners – the largest private equity deal in New Zealand in 2015
- Manuka Health and its shareholders on its sale to Pacific Equity Partners
- Evolution Healthcare on its acquisition of Acurity Health Group and sale of Boulcott Hospital
- Sumitomo on its acquisition of a substantial pine forest from Tasman Bay Forests Company for $370m
- Higgins Group Holdings on its sale to NZX and ASX listed Fletcher Building for $315m
- GIC Real Estate, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, on its $1b joint venture with Scentre Group – Westfield mall owner and operator – to take a 49% stake in five New Zealand shopping centres
- Vista Group International’s $92.5m IPO and NZX and ASX listing
- a Japanese consortium (Oji Holdings Corp and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan) on its 100% acquisition of Carter Holt Harvey’s pulp, paper and packaging businesses for $1.037b, and
- an Australian waste management company Transpacific Industries on the $950m sale of its New Zealand business to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Beijing Capital Group.
