Andrew delivers board-level advice to corporates buying, selling or financing their businesses in a range of jurisdictions, including the Middle East, Asia and the United States. He has acted for global banks in South Asia and the Middle East on their strategic transactions and for financial services firms in financing businesses.
He has been a partner in UK, US, New Zealand and Hong Kong law firms and has worked for many years as a lawyer in the jurisdictions he is qualified to practice in: New York, England, Hong Kong and New Zealand.
Acted for: Trinity Opportunities in IFLR’s Private Equity Deal of the Year: the mezzanine film financing of Village Roadshow; a Middle East sovereign wealth fund in its dispositions in the Democratic Republic of Congo; a financial services firm in its subordinated refinancing of an Asian fresh produce business; Sinpoec Kantons on its oil storage joint ventures and acquisitions in the Middle East and Indonesia; HSBC plc on its acquisition and dispositions in Asia and the Middle East; the underwriters of the HK$3.5 billion China Modern Dairy initial public offering; Calgary Petroleum on its sale to TAG Oil; its dealings with the Takeovers Panel and compliance with the Takeovers Code; and the Securities Commission and compliance with securities laws; Horizon Energy Distribution Limited, the listed lines company on its commercial relationships and disputes with a an electricity generator and compliance with applicable lines company regulations; Carter Holt Harvey on the sale of its tissues business to Svenska Cellulosa. Advised a listed property fund on its successful appeal against the Takeovers Panel case challenging the use of a Scheme of Arrangement to avoid the application of the Takeovers Code; Citibank on its off-balance sheet financings of Enron and Time Warner Cable; BNP Paribas on numerous acquisition financings of buy-outs; DLJ on its future-flow film receivables financings of Universal Studios; the owners of Bermuda Telecom, the incumbent telco in Bermuda, in its sale to private equity interests; Tommy Hilfiger on a number of projects in the apparel industry,; Barrick Gold Corp. on its acquisition of Homestake Mining; and Sante Fe International on its merger-of-equals with Global Marine (now TransOcean).
University of Chicago — LLM
Auckland University — B.A.,
Victoria University of Wellington — LLB (Hons), 1993 (Masters thesis: “The effect of the proposed Personal Property Securities Act on Debenture Creditors”).
Fellow, Hong Kong Institute of Directors.
Named an All-Star Lateral by The American Lawyer.
Named in the International Who’s Who of Private Funds Lawyers and as a leading M&A lawyer in China and Hong Kong in the IFLR 1000. The Legal 500 Asia Pacific for 2011-2012 noted that, in investment funds, “the ‘fantastic’ Andrew Abernethy provides ‘solid advice based on commercial considerations.'"
Asialaw has repeatedly named Andrew as a leading mergers and acquisitions lawyer in its guides to Asia’s leading lawyers, citing market feedback that “Andrew brings a very strong commercial perspective to transactions and has a natural flair for negotiation strategy”.
Australasian Legal Business identified Andrew as a leading lawyer in the energy and resources sector with clients commending the “great expertise he brings to all tasks”.
ALB named Andrew as one of Australasia’s “Hot 40” lawyers and one of Asia’s “Hot 100” lawyers.