People

Tiwai Point is New Zealand's largest single user of electricity by a very large margin and is an integral part of the electricity market and system – employing 800 people directly with a flow-on employment profile of over three thousand jobs.

Greenwood Roche advises New Zealand's Aluminium Smelter and Pacific Aluminium on all aspects of the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter electricity supply, including the 2013 and 2015 renegotiations with Meridian Energy.

Greenwood Roche has been part of the Bathurst team on some important parts of the Buller Project, advising on land acquisition and land rights for the coal handling and preparation facility and the proposed aerial conveyor, and obtaining requisite Overseas Investment Office approvals.
 
We have also been acting jointly for Bathurst Resources and Westport Harbour on their joint arrangements for the siting, construction and operation of a coal handling facility at Westport Port.

Greenwood Roche advised Victoria University on most aspects of the transfer arrangements, including the relevant people, asset and liability transfers, extensive implementation and transitional arrangements, financial arrangements including treatment of funding contracts, specialist premises leasing and also associated joint venture arrangements and downstream acquisitions around particular research product and technology.

Greenwood Roche assisted Winstone Aggregates in relation to its acquisition of the land, including the obtaining of the consent of the Overseas Investment Office to the transaction (Winstone Aggregates is considered an ‘overseas person’ by virtue of the shareholding of its parent company Fletcher Building, which is publicly listed on both the NZX and ASX). 

About Winstone Aggregates:
 

• Winstone Aggregates forms part of the Fletcher Building group of companies. Fletcher Building is a dual listed (NZX and ASX) publicly traded building materials and construction company.  It is New Zealand’s largest publicly listed company by market capitalisation.
• Winstone Aggregates is the largest aggregate company in New Zealand with 26 locations nationwide, and extracts 4.5 million cubic metres from the ground every year for roading, building and industry.
• According to its website, Winstone Aggregates employs more than 300 people around New Zealand.
• For more information on Winstone Aggregates, please visit www.winstoneaggregates.co.nz.

Greenwood Roche assisted VINCI in respect of New Zealand aspects of the transaction, working closely with VINCI Energies’ international legal teams from Baker McKenzie (Sydney) and Bolze Associés (Paris).  Greenwood Roche is proud to have worked with VINCI and its legal team on this project.

About VINCI:
 

• VINCI Energies' is the world’s largest company in construction and related services and is listed on Euronext's Paris stock exchange and is a member of the CAC 40 index.
• According to its website, in 2013 the VINCI Group had 171,678 employees and worked on 266,000 projects in 100 countries – with VINCI Energies having around 63,000 employees in 45 countries.
• For more information on VINCI Energies, please visit www.vinci.com

Alas, with oil prices falling below US$40 per barrel for a sustained period, Mosman and its joint venture partners were forced to cancel the sale and purchase agreement.  Reportedly, the assets may still be available for purchase.
Partner Brigid McArthur and solicitors Susan Baas and Kurt McRedmond worked with Mosman on its acquisition project, including on its due diligence, sale and purchase negotiations and applications for New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals and Overseas Investment Office consents.

Partner Brigid McArthur recently acted for Ecotricity Limited on the establishment of the joint venture, by way of limited partnership, with Pioneer Generation Limited.  Pioneer owns and operates some significant renewable generation projects in the South Island.  The Ecotricity Limited Partnership is also investing in electric vehicles and associated infrastructure.
Together, Ecotricity and Pioneer are championing the case for investment in renewables and we congratulate them on their venture.  They are at the forefront of what is a growing trend away from conventional fossil fuel based technologies.  Your support can be enhanced by visiting the Ecotricity website and checking the deals on offer.  www.ecotricity.co.nz