Sullivan & Cromwell Co-Chair Scott Miller and Australia Managing Partner Wally Jones spoke to Law.com International about the Firm’s practice in Australia as the Firm celebrates its 40th anniversary in the country. Since opening its Melbourne office in 1983, S&C has handled a steady stream of cross-border work for Australian companies, managing their overseas financing and transactions into the United States. The Firm added a Sydney office in 2001. Earlier this year, partner Chris Beatty relocated to Sydney from London to augment the Firm’s finance, special situations and private credit practice in Asia-Pacific region.
“Our expertise here really is driven towards a U.S. capital raising market,” said Scott. Last year, the Firm ranked first among issuer’s counsel in Australia and New Zealand in Rule 144A and SEC-registered offerings, according to Refinitiv and ranked first in Refinitiv’s league tables for Australia involvement in U.S. firm M&A rankings between January 2006 and September 2022. In 2022 S&C also represented mining giant BHP in the divestiture of its oil interests in a $28 billion merger with Woodside Energy. Over the years, it has helped Australian banks and telecommunications companies as they privatized and sought financing in the United States.
Wally, who became Australia Managing Partner in 2019, added, “We played a very significant role because the U.S. markets were critical to getting those transactions executed.”
Read “Sullivan & Cromwell Is a Quiet Force in Australia.”