Value: Undisclosed.

Deal: KPMG Law has advised on the completion of a significant cross-listing for leading ASX 200 regenerative medicine company, AVITA Medical Limited.  

Area: M&A, Capital markets.

Key players: KPMG Law was part of an integrated KPMG team that acted on the transaction. It advised on all legal aspects of the transaction (including the scheme of arrangement and the listing of AVITA Therapeutics, Inc. on ASX). 

KPMG Law’s team was led by David Morris, the head of KPMG Law’s M&A practice, with support from director Paul Mayson and lawyers Bree Taylor and Andrew Antoun.

Tax support was provided by KPMG in Australia by partner Justin Davis and director Denis Larkin, along with KPMG tax teams in the US and Hong Kong.

Deal significance: The complex assignment involved the AVITA Group’s redomiciliation to the US, which involved a court and shareholder approved scheme of arrangement and the cross-listing of the group’s new holding company AVITA Therapeutics, Inc. on the ASX and NASDAQ. 

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According to KPMG Law partner Mr Morris, the listing represents a significant transformative move – both for the company and the sector.

“It was an extremely complex cross-border transaction and involved AVITA Medical obtaining a wide range of regulatory approvals within a very tight timetable during the COVID-19 initial lockdown,” Mr Morris said.

“We were very pleased to have had David lead the transaction for us given his deep experience in Australia/US cross border transactions and the KPMG global platform that he could provide to us,” Avita’s CFO, David McIntyre commented.

Looking at the market trend in life sciences, Mr Morris noted AVITA Medical’s positioning was significant.

“The commercial advantages that AVITA Medical anticipates obtaining from the transaction, together with the deep understanding of life sciences companies that the US capital markets have, may see more Australian companies seek to undertake similar transactions in the near-term,” he said.

“We are delighted to have acted on this unique and groundbreaking transaction for AVITA Medical, which is seen by the company as being integral to the group’s ability to build on the strong growth it has experienced in the US in recent years.”

He confirmed that Federal Court orders were also obtained to allow the scheme meeting to be held in an entirely virtual format, which is understood to be the first of its kind in Australia.

“The transaction highlights KPMG Law’s strong cross-border legal experience and also the benefits of being able to work seamlessly with our tax colleagues across three jurisdictions,” Mr Morris added.

Notably, the AVITA transaction is one of a number of high-profile matters for KPMG Law in the past 12 months, including the sale of the ONCALL Group to private equity funds managed by Pemba Capital Partners.