Deal: Squire Patton Boggs advised World Trade Centre Perth (WTCP) on the first stage of its unsolicited bid to acquire and develop a parcel of government land in inner Perth.

Value: $1.85 billion

Area: Property, construction

Key players: Josh Clarke, of counsel, led the Squire Patton Boggs team advising WTCP along with senior associate Mark Palermo and associate Natalie Cosh.

Deal significance: Squire Patton Boggs advised WTCP on its unsolicited bid to acquire and develop the site. WTCP plans to incorporate the land into its adjacent property to construct a $1.85 billion World Trade Centre complex.

The development will include a 70-storey tower, a private club, a function centre, apartments, a planetarium, a retail precinct, a hotel and offices, according to a statement from Squire Patton Boggs.

“The WTC Association stimulates trade and investment opportunities [for] businesses looking to connect globally and prosper locally,” said WTCP business development director Neil Kidd.

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“Now businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to SMEs, can have access to the sort of in-country introductions and support facilities that have previously been the preserve of the multinationals.”

The bid is the first to pass initial assessment under the WA government’s new unsolicited bids policy.

“The unsolicited bids policy was first announced before the 2015 budget and was adopted by the cabinet a year ago. WTCP’s bid is the first to make it beyond the initial assessment phase into the full stage one review process,” said Josh Clarke (pictured), who led the Squire Patton Boggs team.

“This presented a number of challenges around the interpretation of the criteria on which the bid would be assessed and how best to articulate and emphasise those aspects of the project and our client that satisfied the criteria. We’re now preparing with our client to complete the second and final stage of the bids' process.”

The development will link Perth to 327 other World Trade Centre locations around the world.