Brendan Earle is a Partner in Corporate, Melbourne. He works with consumer and retail businesses who need help to negotiate contracts for strategic, risky or uncertain situations. His team handle acquisitions, divestments, manufacturing and distribution and fund-raising.
Brendan designs and negotiates contracts for business relationships that can flex over time: to grow by channel or region, or deal with scenarios that come up in a fast-changing world. This allows clients to get what they are paying for, to manage risks that arise from uncertainty over time and to protect their balance sheet.
Unlike others, Brendan draws on broad business experience to deliver outcomes that are legally sound and commercially effective. Brendan is a director of Scope (Aust) Limited, one of the largest disability services providers in Australia. He is Chair of the Risk & Audit Committee. Between 2010 – 2019, he was a director of St Vincent’s Health Australia Ltd, the largest not for profit health group in Australia.
Brendan appears in Best Lawyers and Doyle’s Guide as a leading commercial and M&A lawyer.
Expertise
Experience
- Coles Supermarkets Advising on a 10-year distribution agreement with Auto & General for car, home and landlord insurance.
- Coles Express Providing advice on extending and renegotiating its long-term alliance with Viva Energy (for the Shell brand in Australia).
- Cavpower Acting for the Cavill family on the sale of Cavpower, the Caterpillar dealer for South Australia and Northern Territory to Sime Darby for more than $500million.
- Border Express Acting for Luff Family on the sale of Border Express, the national transport business, to Singapore Post for more than $200 million.
- Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Acting on its acquisition of Baron Group, a prominent Australian-China business manufacturing of advanced precision silicone components for more than US$300 million.
- Dulux Group Acting on numerous acquisitions including the Inspirations network (108 sites), Paint Spot network (17 sites), Admil, Sealants Australasia, Ezycote, Quikcote and Render Texture Paint Supplies.
- Nuchev Ltd Advising on an investment and distribution agreement with H&S Group and the acquisition of bWellness which diversified the group into nutritional, naturotherapy and herbal complementary medicines.
- TasFoods Advising on the sale of Betta Milk and Meander Valley Dairy to Bega Australia.
- Alternate Path and Downie family Advising on a strategic relationship with Gamuda to develop a portfolio of wind and solar farms in central Tasmania.
- Private entrepreneurs Advising on co-investment and fundraising arrangements, joint ventures, governance and restructuring.