Anna Buchly

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Anna is a specialist corporate lawyer, with particular focus on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and joint ventures.

Anna is a partner in Bell Gully’s market-leading corporate team. She works on New Zealand's biggest deals for blue chip clients including Vodafone and Crown Infrastructure Partners, and world leading private equity clients investing in New Zealand.

A solutions driven lawyer, Anna works with clients to find outcomes that deliver from a legal and commercial perspective.

She has extensive experience advising on:

major mergers and acquisitions, with a particular focus on acting for private equity clients,
complex joint venture arrangements, and
securities offerings, takeovers and stock exchange listings and compliance.

Her international experience includes working in the Dubai office of Clyde & Co and with Mallesons Stephen Jaques (now King & Wood Mallesons) in Sydney.

Anna is highly ranked in the IFLR1000 2023 for her private equity and M&A work. Clients said Anna is "stand out and simply top-drawer.”

Anna is ranked as a leading corporate and commercial lawyer in Chambers Asia Pacific 2023. In a previous edition Anna has been described by a client as "one of the best corporate and commercial lawyers I've come across," adding that she "brings a practical lens to issues and applies commercial nous and pragmatism to get deals over the line." Previous editions noted that Anna is "especially well placed to advise inbound investors on M&A and private equity investments" and that she is "not fazed by problems and is solution focused."

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024 also ranks Anna as a leading individual for corporate and mergers and acquisitions. In a previous edition, clients said she will "always go above and beyond to assist".

Anna is named New Zealand Dealmaker of the Year in the Australasian Law Awards 2023.

She has been named as one of New Zealand Lawyer’s Elite Women in 2023.

She’s also recognised in the mergers and acquisitions lawyer of the year and the private equity lawyer of the year categories at the Women in Business Law Awards APAC 2023 shortlists.

As of September 2022, Anna has been named deputy chair of the New Zealand Takeovers Panel, the government’s regulator of the corporate takeovers market.

Anna was awarded Managing Partner of the Year at both the 2019 and 2020 New Zealand Law Awards. At the 2020 INFINZ Awards, Anna won the Hunter Campbell Diversity and Inclusion award. Anna was recognised for encouraging and nurturing diversity, in particular around gender and diverse representation at all levels.

In 2021, Anna was included in IFLR1000's Women Leaders 2021, an elite cohort of the leading female transactional experts in local markets globally. Anna was recognised as a 'changemaker' in NZ Lawyer's inaugural Most Influential Lawyers report.

NZ Lawyer recognised Anna as a Most Influential Lawyer in the NZ Lawyer Awards 2022.

Work highlights

Next Generation Critical Communications and Crown Infrastructure Partners
Advised Next Generation Critical Communications (NGCC) (a division of New Zealand Police) and Crown Infrastructure Partners Limited (CIP) on the $1.4 billion digital infrastructure procurement of The Public Safety Network - Te Kupenga Marutau. This included a suite of major contracts for the procurement of a critical public safety communications network for New Zealand's emergency services agencies.

Vodafone New Zealand TowerCo sale
Advising Vodafone New Zealand on the sale of its passive mobile tower infrastructure assets for NZ$1.7 billion to funds managed or advised by InfraRed Capital Partners (on behalf of HICL Infrastructure plc) and Northleaf Capital Partners, alongside a reinvestment by Infratil.

Mataura Valley Milk on its investment by The a2 Milk Company
Advised Mataura Valley Milk on its NZ$268.5 million investment by The a2 Milk Company.

Fletcher Building on-market share buyback programme
Advising Fletcher Building on its on-market share buyback of Fletcher Building shares, for a maximum aggregate purchase price of NZ$300 million, announced in May 2021 and which commenced in June 2021.

EQT acquisition of Metlifecare
Advised EQT Infrastructure IV Fund on its $1.28 billion acquisition of NZX-listed Metlifecare by way of a scheme of arrangement, EQT's first investment into Oceania, including termination of its original Scheme Implementation Agreement on the basis of material adverse change and its subsequent second scheme with Metlifecare. It was recognised as M&A Deal of the Year in New Zealand Law Awards 2021.

Bentley Systems acquisition of Seequent
Advising Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading NASDAQ-listed infrastructure engineering software company, on the acquisition of Seequent, a world leader in developing 3D geological modelling software, headquartered in Christchurch, for US$1.05 billion.

Vodafone New Zealand sale
Advised Vodafone Group Plc on its sale of Vodafone New Zealand to a consortium of Infratil and Brookfield Asset Management for NZ$3.4 billion, making it one of the largest New Zealand M&A transactions on record.

Trade Me takeover
Advised Apax Partners LLP on its NZ$2.56 billion takeover of Trade Me - the largest takeover undertaken to date in NZ via scheme of arrangement.

Westland Co-operative Dairy Company sale
Advised Westland Co-operative Dairy Company on its strategic review and sale to Yili Group by way of scheme of arrangement for NZ$588 million.

Acquisition and subsequent sale of Orica's chemical business
Advised Blackstone Singapore on the acquisition of certain Orica assets for A$750 million. The sale comprised chemicals trading businesses in Australia, New Zealand and Latin America and the Australian Chloralkali manufacturing business. It also included Bronson & Jacobs which is a supplier to the food, nutrition and health and personal care industries in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Also advised on the subsequent sale of the rebranded Ixom business to Keppel Infrastructure Trust.

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Work highlights

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