The proposed deal will speed up Weir's technology roadmap
The Weir Group PLC is looking to acquire Perth mining software provider Micromine for $1.35bn, and it has tapped a team from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) to help out.
The proposed deal would speed up Weir’s technology roadmap and grow the company’s digital capability through a globally scaled platform that would maximise performance through the mining process. At present, Micromine is owned by a group of shareholders that includes private equity firm Potentia Capital.
“In Micromine, we are adding an established, high-quality business and proven performer that is complementary to Weir’s aftermarket-focused business model and current digital solutions. This acquisition provides a compelling opportunity for strong value creation in the immediate and longer term”, Weir CEO Jon Stanton said in a press release.
Potentia Capital managing partner Andrew Gray highlighted Micromine’s AI offerings, which he said “will allow Weir’s customers to rapidly capitalise on their digital futures”.
According to Weir, the transaction will be funded by current cash resources and new debt facilities.
“We are delighted to have supported Weir on this acquisition, which accelerates Weir’s strategy for sustainable digital mining at a key time in the industry”, co-lead partner Rebecca Maslen-Stannage said.
HSF assisted with the financing aspects of the pitched acquisition, which was first announced on 28 February. Maslen-Stannage headed up the multidisciplinary, cross-border team alongside corporate partners Mia Harrison-Kelf and Mike Flockhart; they were supported by partners Gabrielle Wong, Kristen Roberts and Patrick Lowden (finance); Stephanie Panayi and Kyriakos Fountoukakos (competition, regulation and trade), Tess Mierendorff (IP), Peter Jones (TMT) and Michael Gonski (employment).
Assisting the transaction team were executive counsel Ying Yi Soh and Rommo Pandit; of counsel Camille Puech-Baron and Stacey Pan; and senior associates Philip Aitken, Samuel Gonski, George Psaltis and Jason Hitch. Lawyers from HSF Sydney, London, New York, Brussels, and Johannesburg pitched in, as dids the Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung team in Jakarta.
