Celebrating 150 years of impact

Alex Franks Alex Franks

Alex Franks

Partner
Auckland

Corporate & commercial

Alex is an experienced corporate lawyer specialising in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity, equity capital markets, overseas investment advice, joint ventures, corporate restructuring projects and corporate governance. 

Alex works across multiple sectors, with  particular expertise in infrastructure, financial services, real estate and forestry. He also has extensive experience advising on management incentive arrangements and employee share schemes, including presenting “Insights into ESOPs” to the Law Association of New Zealand.

Prior to returning to New Zealand in 2020, Alex worked in London, UK and São Paulo, Brazil for eight years, including six years with magic circle firm Clifford Chance and two years as an independent legal consultant working on M&A and capital markets projects in Africa.

Recent highlights

  • Advised Direct Capital on its investment in Hiway Group on the exit by The Riverside Company, and its investment into Bayley Corporation in connection with the acquisition of ASX-listed real estate company McGrath.
  • Advised Evergreen Partners on its acquisition of its interest in Delta Insurance.
  • Advised Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei on the sale of its property, Wai o Roka, Belmont to Summerset for a mix of cash and shares.
  • Advised Pepper Money on its acquisition of the NZ$1.4b prime residential mortgage portfolio from HSBC New Zealand.
  • Advised Challenger on its NZ$597m acquisition of Bluestone Home Loans.
  • Advised Evolution Healthcare on the acquisition of ABI Rehabilitation.
  • Advised Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan on its NZ$900m acquisition of Spark New Zealand’s mobile towers business.
  • Advised Z Energy on the $2b takeover by Ampol by way of scheme of arrangement.
  • Advised Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners on the acquisition of the StraitNZ business including Bluebridge ferries.
  • Advised ezyVet on the sale of its business to US-based IDEXX Laboratories.

Alex's insights

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Chapman Tripp advises Pepper Money on prime residential mortgage portfolio acquisition

Chapman Tripp is delighted to have advised Pepper Money Limited on its a binding agreement to acquire the New Zealand prime residential mortgage portfolio of HSBC. This is a significant deal in the New Zealand market for a non-bank lender.

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Celebrating four new Partners and one Special Counsel

Grace Rippingale, Alex Franks, Vivian Cheng and Sam Holden have been promoted to Partner; and Sarah Jackson has been promoted to Special Counsel.

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lawn bowls

Oceania raises $100m for acquisitions in Auckland

Oceania Healthcare has successfully raised $100m to fund the acquisition of a premium Auckland retirement village, Waterford at Hobsonville Point and its currently leased Franklin site and adjacent land for development.

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reflective window building

A humming start to 2021 for NZ’s equity capital markets

We have observed a busy Q1, advising on all major ($5m+) equity capital market transactions on the NZX.

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Others in the team

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