James advises on a full range of corporate matters, with a focus on capital markets and public and private M&A transactions.

He has acted on many major M&A and securities transactions in Australasia and also regularly acts as New Zealand counsel on trans-Tasman matters.

He has advised on initial public offerings on the New Zealand Stock Exchange, and acted for New Zealand-based companies in overseas public offerings and listings, including on the NASDAQ. He has also acted for underwriters of private and public securities offerings.

Chambers Global 2008 recognises the "strong private equity component to his practice", and the 2009 edition describes him as an "excellent M&A lawyer". IFLR1000 2010 names him as a leading M&A lawyer, with particular private equity expertise.

He is also listed in the Guide to the World's Leading Private Equity Lawyers released in 2008. PLC Which Lawyer? 2009 identifies James as a recommended lawyer in its annual corporate/M&A rankings and also lists James as a highly recommended individual in its latest private equity rankings, describing him as "one of the foremost private equity transaction specialists in the country".

Qualifications

LLB, M(Com) Law (First Class Honours) Auckland University

Admitted

1990 New Zealand
1995 New York Bar

International Career

  • Epstein Becker & Green, LLP, New York
    1994-1995

Publications

Contact

Email: James Gibson

DDI: 64 9 916 8962

Mobile: 64 21 703 735

Download Vcard: Vcard for James Gibson

Areas of Expertise

Recent Work

Pyne Gould recapitalisation
Advised Pyne Gould Corporation on its $272.9 million recapitalisation to support it to become a publicly-listed banking and asset management company. Bell Gully advised on all aspects of the capital raising including corporate and securities issues, financing and tax.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances equity raising
Advising Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Limited on its recapitalisation and, in particular, the introduction of Haier Group as a cornerstone 20% shareholder.

Frucor sale
Advised Groupe DANONE on the sale of its Frucor fruit juices, energy drinks, waters and soft drinks business for in excess of NZ$1.45bn.

Ironbridge takeover of CanWest Mediaworks
Advised Ironbridge Capital, a leading independent Australasian private equity group, on its takeover of all the shares and options in New Zealand media company CanWest MediaWorks. Ironbridge's offer to acquire all of the shares in MediaWorks followed a highly contested bidding process for CanWest's 70% stake.

T3 Sale
Acted as New Zealand counsel to the Commonwealth of Australia and to Telstra Corporation on the A$15.5 billion sale of the third tranche of the Australian Government’s stake in Telstra. This required obtaining original exemptions from the Securities Commission around offer documents. Also involved in complex and sophisticated due diligence involving all government departments and Telstra, and faced complex disclosure issues in a period when telecommunications regulations in Australasia are in a state of flux.

Woolworths Australia
Acted for Woolworths in the on-market acquisition of a 10% stake in discount retailer The Warehouse. This overnight share purchase involved a significant strategic stake in a New Zealand icon in general merchandise.