Jones Day recognized for 2021 Australasian Law Awards' "Insolvency & Restructuring Deal of the Year"

The Firm was recognized for advising on the Insolvency & Restructuring Deal of the Year at the 2021 Australasian Law Awards.

Jones Day advised the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) on its A$200 million combined debt and equity investment and participation in the A$3.5 billion recapitalization and acquisition out of administration of Virgin Australia, Australia's second-largest airline, by Bain Capital. This role for QIC was of great importance to the State of Queensland, on whose behalf QIC acted. This transaction was highly complex, with a significant number of stakeholders and diverse interests at play, and attracted considerable public attention. The Jones Day team brought the transaction to a successful closing, while ensuring that the objectives of QIC and the State of Queensland were achieved. The State's key policy objectives were to protect and promote business and employment in Queensland, as well as some regional air routes, and to ensure that Virgin's headquarters remained in Queensland. These objectives necessitated heavily negotiated and bespoke agreements setting out the State's investment conditions and the commitments made by Virgin to the State under its new ownership, which included a 10-year commitment for Virgin's headquarters to remain in Queensland.

The Jones Day team included Mark Crean, Isaac West, Lucas Wilk, Max Rose, and Dale Atkinson in Australia, and Karthik Kumar, Lynette Lim, and Jia Yin Leong in Singapore.

"We were delighted to act for QIC on this transaction and to assist them in ensuring that their objectives and those of the State of Queensland were satisfied," said lead partners Mark Crean and Isaac West. "In addition to the terms of the A$200 million investment, the transaction required detailed negotiations in relation to operational matters to ensure the State's objectives were met. We thoroughly enjoyed working closely with the QIC team throughout these negotiations."

The Australasian Law Awards issue recognition through awards presented to the region's leading law firms, in-house legal teams, individuals, deals, and cases.