Chapman Tripp Acts for HgCapital in Orion Deal

11 July 2018

Chapman Tripp is advising HgCapital on its acquisition in a majority stake of Orion Healthcare’s core business Rhapsody for $205 million.

Partners John Strowger and Tim Sherman, and solicitor Kit Adamson, are advising the UK private equity firm HgCapital, which has funds of £10 billion under management and an investment focus in technology, in the transaction that will see Hg acquire majority ownership of Rhapsody and also invest in Orion Health's Population Health business.

The transaction is still subject to conditions including Overseas Investment Office approval. Once complete, Orion will use approximately $28 million of the transaction funds to undertake a share buyback offer to retain an ongoing 24.9% shareholding in the Rhapsody business.

The deal marks the middle of a big year for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for Chapman Tripp. The firm is the leading New Zealand firm by deal count and deal value in “Mergermarket’s H1 2018 M&A league tables” in Australasia. No other law firm in New Zealand has made these tables.

Chapman Tripp is also the leading New Zealand firm by deal involvement announced and completed, according to “Thomson & Reuters First Half 2018 M&A Review” in Australasia (again, no other New Zealand firm has made the tables, and Chapman Tripp is fourth in Australasia for announced deals) as well as the leading New Zealand firm by deal count and deal volume in “Bloomberg’s 1H 2018 M&A Legal Rankings” in Australasia.

Partner Tim Tubman, who heads Chapman Tripp’s national corporate group, said predictions of a strong pipeline of M&A activity fuelled by cashed-up strategic investors and private equity buyers were proving correct.

“The solid M&A deal volumes of last year have continued, but unlike last year, we are seeing a resurgence in mega-deals, such as Cigna Corporation’s purchase of ANZ Bank New Zealand’s business OnePath Life NZ for $700m, in which we advised ANZ, and the sale of Shell New Zealand to Vienna-based oil and gas company OMV for $794m.”

ends

© Scoop Media