Melita Cottrell

Partner

Sydney, Australia

Melita is a partner, specialising in finance across a range of areas.

Melita advises financial institutions, corporate borrowers and investment companies on all legal issues associated with the financing of all transactions.

Melita has acted for many of the leading financial institutions as well as leading corporates in Australia and the Asia Pacific region on large and complex transactions in all these areas.

Background

Melita holds a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Sydney and is admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Melita joined the Sydney office of Freehills as a summer clerk in 1994, and the Banking and Finance group in 1998, having worked briefly in the Mergers & Acquisitions group.

Experience & expertise

Selected matters

Lend Lease in connection with their successful tender for Sydney’s Barangaroo South Development, including securing A$2 billion of equity funding from major institutional onshore and offshore investors and Lend Lease itself
The senior financiers with respect to term and revolving facilities of NZ$346 million provided to Ross Group Enterprises Limited (a New Zealand entity owned by funds advised or controlled by Affinity Equity Partners) in connection with its acquisition of Tegel Foods, New Zealand’s largest poultry business
Prime Infrastructure in respect of the banking and finance aspects of the A$1.8 billion recapitalisation, including negotiating with a number of different banks syndicates in relation to two refinancings and the sale of a 49.9% economic interest in the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal. The deal was recently named joint winner of the Finance Asia Most Innovative Deal for 2009
Prime infrastructure in respect of the banking and finance aspects of it’s A$1.6 billion merger with Brookfield Infrastructure
Babcock & Brown on the A$2.7 billion financing of the Alinta acquisition
Leading financial institutions on their corporate financings with leading corporates, including to the Leightons Holdings group’s A$670 million syndicated bonding facility