Herbert Smith Freehills advises Adamantem Capital on its acquisition of Mason Stevens

Herbert Smith Freehills is proud to have advised Adamantem Capital on its ~A$200 million acquisition of Mason Stevens by way of scheme of arrangement.

This transaction will allow Adamantem to accelerate its growth plans and capitalise on Australia’s expanding high-net-worth sector, leveraging Mason Stevens' scalable digital platform and unique value proposition.

Adamantem is a Sydney-based private equity firm that manages over A$2 billion in funds under management across Australia and New Zealand. It has a strong track record of scaling organisations across various sectors, including B2B and professional services, and is known for responsible and impact investing.

Mason Stevens manages approximately $8 billion in funds under administration. As a result of the transaction, Adamantem will continue to increase and accelerate investment in its integrated wealth platform and services for wealth practices, focusing on innovations that enhance client experience.

The Herbert Smith Freehills Corporate team was led by partners Kam Jamshidi, Tom Hoare and executive counsel Zoe Leyland. They were supported by solicitors James Newton, Sandra Nguyen and Ruchika Bilagi Sandesh.

The Herbert Smith Freehills Finance team was led by partner Hayley Neilson, supported by senior associate Betty Huang and solicitor Matthew Bramich.

The Herbert Smith Freehills Financial Services Regulatory team was led by Michael Vrisakis, supported by Hartley Spring.

Partner Kam Jamshidi said, “The private capital sector in Australia is continuing to grow and this transaction seeks to capitalise on this trend”.

Partner Tom Hoare added, “We are excited to have assisted Adamantem Capital on this new chapter and to have facilitated a pivotal transaction that demonstrates the strength of our private equity offering combined with our public M&A expertise.”

Finance partner Hayley Neilson said, “It was great to work with Adamantem on this transaction and we look forward to assisting the team as they grow the business.”

While Mason Stevens was a public unlisted company, this transaction is another example of the increase in “take-private” deals in the market.

Other recent examples of HSF’s market-leading work in Australian private equity include the firm advising on the following:

• Carlyle on its acquisition of Waste Services Group.
• Pacific Equity Partners on its acquisition of Serenitas.
• Madison Dearborn Partners’ and HPS Investment Partners’ portfolio company, The Ardonagh Group, on its acquisition of PSC Insurance by way of a scheme of arrangement and subsequent corporate carve out of the Australian and global operations.
• EQT and its portfolio company, Icon Group, on its acquisition of the Pharmaxo Group.
• Quadrant Private Equity on its investment in Canva.
• Quadrant on its acquisition of Birch & Waite.
• Quadrant Private Equity on its acquisition of majority stake in Evolution Medical Group.
• Quadrant on its co-investment with Madison Dearborn for the acquisition of APM Human Services by way of scheme of arrangement.
• Mercury Capital on its acquisition of Fyfe.
• Mercury Capital on its acquisition of JMC Academy.
• Advent Partners on its strategic investment in MySite.