Bio
Lance Jones is a technically proficient and pragmatic corporate transactional lawyer with more than 20 years' experience advising clients on domestic and cross border mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, complex commercial contracts and shareholder/joint venture arrangements. Lance builds lasting relationships with his clients, who value his responsiveness and collaborative, solutions-focused approach, and describe him as being easy and enjoyable to deal with.
Lance is highly experienced in helping buyers and sellers of small, medium and large businesses plan and successfully execute their transactions. He is trusted by some of New Zealand's largest and most successful companies with both their most important transactions and also their day-to-day corporate work.
Lance is also one of New Zealand's most experienced and expert advisers on the Overseas Investment Act. He regularly advises Australasian and international private equity firms and institutional investors on their inbound investment transactions, including advising on the applicability of the 'OIO' regime and applying for and obtaining consent from the Overseas Investment Office. Lance also advises international law firms on the applicability of the regime to their global transactions that have a New Zealand nexus.
Lance has authored the New Zealand chapter of the global publication Lexology – Foreign Investment Review for the last five years (2020-2024), and has been a member of the Overseas Investment Office's "Legal Reference Group" since 2022.
Lance is passionate about supporting members of his community who need help accessing life's basics, having been a fundraising partner of the Auckland City Mission since 2015, and a supporter of Variety Children's Charity in Auckland since 2020.
Recognition
Qualifications
- LLB (Hons, First Class), BCom – University of Canterbury
- Admitted in New Zealand – 2003
- Admitted in New South Wales – 2005
Work highlights
- Advising I-MED Radiology Network on its acquisitions of Hamilton Radiology, Midland MRI and Taranaki Radiology, including obtaining Overseas Investment Office consent, and assisting I-MED with its day-to-day corporate legal work in New Zealand.
- Advising Lineage Logistics on its acquisitions of Emergent Cold (including obtaining Overseas Investment Office consent) and Cold Storage Nelson, advising on New Zealand aspects of its NASDAQ IPO, and assisting with its day-to-day corporate legal work in New Zealand.
- Advising Fisher Funds on its acquisitions of Kiwi Wealth (including obtaining Overseas Investment Office consent) and AON New Zealand's superannuation business.
- Advising Complectus Group (now Perpetual Guardian) on its acquisitions of New Zealand Trustee Services, Documents Plus, Will2Live, Covenant Trustee Services and Foundation Corporate Trust, its partial divestment to Direct Capital and related joint venture arrangements, and the simultaneous buy-out of Direct Capital and sale of its corporate trust division (The New Zealand Guardian Trust Company and Covenant Trustee Services Limited) to Tricor.
- Advising Fonterra on its various commercial arrangements with a2 Milk, its joint ventures with Future Group in India and Beingmate in Australia, its commercial supply agreements with Bellamy's in Australia, the sale of its Inlaca Venezuela joint venture interest and its competitive bid for Canary Enterprises.
- Advising NAB, PEP and Jarden on the joint Overseas Investment Office consent application for their new FirstCape wealth advisory and asset management joint venture.
- Advising Pacific Equity Partners on New Zealand aspects of the sale of iNova Pharmaceuticals to TPG Capital, and New Zealand aspects of its sale of Lifehealthcare to EBOS.
