Under the $AUD36.6 million deal, Haier will take a 20 per cent stake in Fisher & Paykle, with the companies entering into a co-operation agreement setting out the areas where they will work together for mutual benefit.  

Co-head of Clayton Utz mergers and acquisition, John Elliott, is leading the Clayton Utz team, which is advising on only the Australian aspects of the deal. The team also includes partner Michael Corrigan who provided Haier with competition law advice, with Michelle Schonstein and Adrian Beerworth both from competition division. 

Commenting on the transaction, Elliot said: "Although FPA is a New Zealand company, it is listed on the ASX, so there were a lot of listing rule issues for our team to consider in structuring the agreement." 

The deal is expected to be completed by July 1 and overall Fisher & Paykle will raise more than AUD$100m in capital.  

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“There is a lot of capital raising at the moment, a lot of companies repositioning balance sheets,” Elliott added. 

Despite the increased number of such deals, Elliot said the firm has not yet had to add any staff or re-direct staff to the mergers and acquisition division. 

All New Zealand based legal advice for Haier Group was handled by Simpson Grierson Lawyers, while Fisher & Paykel enlisted Freehills to act as its Australian legal counsel on the deal, with Bell Gully acting as its New Zealand counsel.

Based in China, Haier is the world's fourth largest whitegoods manufacturer.