
Liam Hickey
Biography
Practice Focus
Liam focuses on advising institutional investors, including pension and superannuation funds, sovereign wealth funds, private equity funds and global asset managers, on a range of complex transactions globally. These include: (i) corporate transactions (including mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, venture capital and growth equity investments, and minority investments); (ii) fund transactions and investments (advising both general partners/managers and limited partners); and (iii) joint ventures, including complex consortium governance arrangements between institutional investors.
Representative Legal Matters
Since commencing at Baker McKenzie in 2021, Liam has worked on the following transactions:
M&A / Private Equity
- Acting for a European private equity fund on the disposal of its material minority investment in a global packaging business to a pension fund through a competitive auction process.
- Acting for a US private equity fund on the acquisition of a controlling stake in an Australian franchising business with business activities in Australia, the US and NZ.
- Acting for a pension fund on a substantial minority investment in an Australian carbon markets project developer alongside a global private equity fund.
- Acting for a US-based private equity fund in respect of its add-on acquisition of an Australia software company with operations in Australia, the US and the UK.
- Acting for a pension fund on its investments in various Australian agricultural assets.
- Acting for a pension fund on its bid for a portfolio of Australian forestry assets.
- Acting for a pension fund on its bid for an ASX and NZX dual-listed renewable energy platform.
- Acting for Australian-based global asset manager in connection with its bid for a portfolio of digital infrastructure assets.
- Acting for portfolio companies of various US-based private equity funds on ongoing portfolio matters for Australian subsidiaries.
Venture Capital
- Acting for an Australian hydrogen technology company on its Series A financing / capital raising (AUD 42.5 million).
- Acting for a Singapore-based investor on its participation in a Series A financing transaction in an Australian business.
In prior roles, Liam has previously worked on over 20 venture capital investments in the technology (principally software) and healthcare sectors in the United States utilising the NVCA standard form documentation.
Joint Venture Transactions / Consortium Arrangements
- Acting for a pension fund on its joint venture investment in an Australian electricity transmission company (focus on complex consortium governance arrangements between consortium members).
- Acting for an Australian-based global asset manager in connection with its acquisition of a data centre provider in the Asia Pacific region (focus on complex consortium governance arrangements with co-investors).
Fund transactions - limited partner roles
- Acting for an Australian institutional investor in respect of its investment in a global private equity fund (flagship buyout fund).
- Acting for an Australian institutional investor in respect of its investment in a global property fund (flagship opportunistic mandate).
- Acting for an Australian institutional investor in respect of its investment in a club property investment (multi-family residential property) in the United States, including in connection with the acquisition of seed assets by the club.
- Acting for an Australian institutional investor in respect of its investment in a club property investment (industrial property) in the United States.
- Acting for an Australian institutional investor in respect of its investment in a club property investment platform (industrial property) in Europe.
- Acting for an Australian institutional investor in respect of its investment in a global property fund (opportunistic mandate across various sectors globally).
Fund transactions - manager roles
- Acting for a UK venture capital manager on the establishment of two separate co-investment mandates (utilising a fund of one structure) for Australian industry superannuation funds.
- Acting for an Australian-based property manager on the establishment of a listed social infrastructure property fund.
Admissions
- Massachusetts~United States (2019)
- Victoria~Australia (2013)
Education
- University of Melbourne (LL.B., Honours) (2011)
- University of Melbourne (BSc. Immunology and Microbiology) (2011)