Stephen Carlton
Biography
Overview
Stephen Carlton is a Corporate M&A Partner in the Firm's Energy, Infrastructure and Project Finance practice, and is based in Melbourne. He is a specialist in advising on transactions in the energy transition, renewables (including offshore wind), infrastructure and mining and metals sectors, as well as advising on foreign direct investment generally, having worked with clients across the Asia-Pacific region, as well as in the United States, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Argentina, Chile, the Middle East, Europe and the United Kingdom.
Stephen has experience on a broad range of project development and corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions (particularly cross-border transactions), equity capital markets, corporate restructurings and general corporate advisory. He also advises on corporate governance and capital management initiatives in both private and public contexts, including complex shareholder arrangements and joint ventures, initial public offerings, and advising on ASX compliance and obligations.
Before moving to the Melbourne office, Stephen worked in the London office of White & Case, and is also qualified to practice law in England and Wales.
Experience
Malakoff Corporation Berhad on the indirect sale of its entire 50% participating interest in the Macarthur Wind Farm in Victoria, Australia, the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere, to Australian asset manager AMP, the winning bidder in a competitive auction process;
AMP Power Australia on the 100% acquisition of the 120MW Hillston Solar Farm Project in Hillston, in the Riverina region of south-western New South Wales from Overland Sun Farming;
A client on the sale of its interest in the development of the proposed 1,200MW Forest Wind project to be built in the south-east of Queensland to Siemens Financial Services;
A consortium consisting of Australian-based asset manager, QIC, and Dutch-based airport operator, Royal Schiphol Group, the winning bidders in a competitive auction for the A$600m acquisition of a 70% equity interest in Hobart International Airport;
ADES International Holding Ltd, a Dubai International Financial Centre based company, and leading provider of offshore and onshore oil and gas drilling and production services in the Middle East and Africa, on its US$696m listing on the London Stock Exchange;
Energean Oil & Gas plc, an independent oil and gas exploration and production company focussed on the eastern Mediterranean, on its £695 million (US$968 million) initial public offering on the Premium List of the London Stock Exchange, including specifically advising on the corporate governance requirements of a Premium Listed company;
Rosneftegaz, on the €10.2 billion 19.5% privatisation of Rosneft Oil Company, the leading oil company in Russia and one of the world's largest publicly traded petroleum companies. This formed part of one of the largest privatisation deals in Russian history;
The selling shareholders and founders of Unified Healthcare Group (UHG), the operator of a leading healthcare technology platform, medEbridge, on the sale of UHG to MedHealth, an Australian provider of healthcare and employment services and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the US-based ExamWorks Group.
Mineros S.A. on the US$85 million acquisition of the Gualcamayo gold mine in the San Juan province in Argentina and earn-in agreement for the La Pepa gold exploration project in Chile;
Synthos S.A., a Poland-based petrochemicals company, on the acquisition of the entire share capital of INEOS Styrenics Holding B.V., which included the indirect acquisitions of subsidiaries located in France, the Netherlands and Türkiye;
Helios Towers Nigeria Limited in relation to its proposed US$250m initial public offering on the standard listing segment of the London Stock Exchange, and on its subsequent trade sale to IHS Holding Limited, the largest telecommunications infrastructure provider in Africa, Europe and the Middle East;
Monterrico Metals plc in relation to the recommended cash offer by Xiamen Zijin Tonngguan Investment Development Co. Ltd to acquire certain minority interests in Monterrico by way of a scheme of arrangement;
Pact Group Holdings Limited in relation to its $649m listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (Australia's largest IPO in 2013);
Ameriabank CJSC in relation to the sale of an equity stake in the bank to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the largest single-ticket equity deal that EBRD signed in the region at the time of signing;
Hambro Perks Limited, an incubator and investment company specialising in startups (including successful technology and online startups), private investment and growth strategy, on its corporate structure, governance and fundraising;
SpeedCast International Limited in relation to its $150m listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2014;
Calibre Group in relation to its $478m listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2012; and
Some of Australia's largest ASX-listed companies on corporate governance, regulatory and listing issues, including clients in industries such as mining, financial services, insurance, energy and resources, retail, telecommunications and transport.
