The real estate industry continues to evolve in a technology focused world, unlocking new REITs (real estate investment trusts) and investment opportunities. Against a backdrop of low bond yields, easing monetary policy and global volatility, our real estate sector M&A experts share insights and consider what opportunities lay ahead for the real estate Mergers and Acquisitions sector. ...

The Draft South East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy 2019-2024 has been released for public consultation. The Strategy is supported by new koala habitat mapping. The Strategy and mapping have serious implications for landowners in koala habitat areas within a Koala Priority Area, who will be prevented from clearing their land except in very limited circumstances. We discuss these implications below and suggest that, at a minimum, landowners should review the mapping to ascertain whether their land is within a Koala Priority Area. ...

The fund financing market in Australia continued to be buoyant in 2019. Private equity, infrastructure and real estate funds remain the main drivers of volume, with an increasing number of newly raised as well as existing private debt funds also capitalising on the market's additional liquidity and ...

Shareholders will receive total cash consideration of $2.345 per share under the approved Scheme, which represents a 5.2% increase from AVID's initial proposal of $2.23 per share in March 2019 and ...

For the first nine months of calendar year 2019, Allens topped Debtwire's Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) Lead Bank's Legal Counsel by volume and number of deals, as well as the Dealogic Regional Legal ...

Allens has advised the Northwest Rapid Transit consortium on the financial close of the $3.7 billion Public Private Partnership for the next stage of the Sydney Metro. ...

Allens advised Acciona Concesiones S.L ( ACCIONA ) on its investment in the project which is part of the consortium of equity investors, including John Laing and Hitachi Zosen INOVA. A separate tea ...

The United Kingdom High Court (the Court) recently handed down its judgment in Amey Highways Ltd v West Sussex County Council, which considered the abandonment of a government procurement process following a breach of relevant procurement regulations by a public agency. For government departments and agencies in particular, this case clarifies when a public agency can abandon a procurement process and what remedies may be available to bidders in these circumstances. ...

Both the Sydney population and the population of Melbourne are expected to reach the size of New York City by 2050, raising questions about how our cities of the future will function. ...

The Australian Government has tabled the Crimes Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2019 (the 2019 Bill) in the Senate, and the Attorney-General's Department has released Draft Guidance on the steps a body corporate can take to prevent an associate from bribing foreign public officials for public consultation (the Draft Guidance). Like the 2017 version of the Bill that lapsed earlier this year (the 2017 Bill), if passed, the 2019 Bill will strengthen Australia's foreign bribery laws, including by introducing a new corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery by an associate, and will introduce a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) scheme for resolving serious corporate criminal matters. Partner Rachel Nicolson, Senior Associate Andrew Wilcock and Associate Lewis Winter report on the key differences between the 2017 and 2019 Bills, and the content of the Draft Guidance. ...