Lawyer Monthly Magazine - September 2021 Edition

INTRUST SUPER’S AUD70B BILLION MERGER WITH HOST PLUS MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS Legal Adviser to Intrust Super November 2021 81 SEP 2021 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM transactions. There are many moving parts and you need to cover them all. Matters such as equivalency of members’ rights, mandated and non-mandated member communications, life insurance contracts, unlisted investment valuations, direct and indirect taxes, staff employment offers, treatment of operational reserves, residual assets, post- transaction date expenses and litigation should require close attention. Are there any potential issues unique to mergers between superannuation funds? Our statutory framework imposes a very high standard of conduct for the client and its directors. The standard is higher than in other areas of corporate work. A failure to meet the standard can give rise to a statutory claim for damages. How do you work with your clients to ensure these issues are handled and their concerns are addressed? We start with a briefing to explain how they may be held accountable in the event of a due diligence “fail”. We then work with our client to construct a proper deal team and governance model. Usually we would have daily contact to make sure the project stays on track.