Merger of Henslow and Baron & Global Expansion via Oaklins

The owners of corporate advisory firms Henslow and Baron are pleased to announce the merger of their businesses. The merged business, to trade under Henslow, will provide:

• greater domestic corporate advisory coverage to existing and prospective clients through Melbourne and Sydney;
• a team of over 25 Australian corporate advisory professionals with access to over 700 advisory professionals in 60 offices across 40 countries through Henslow becoming the continuing Oaklins member firm for Australia (following Baron’s membership in 1995); and
• a comprehensive client offering including public and private M&A advisory, capital markets and active management services, both in Australia and globally.

The current Managing Directors of Henslow, Justin Lewis, Scott McInnes, Chris Tait and Ryan Whitelegg, will be joined by Baron’s, Stephen Chapman and Paul Young, as Managing Directors in Henslow. The other Baron principal, Peter Fraser, will also be joining the Henslow
senior management team.

The merger substantially improves Henslow’s offering which now covers all key aspects of working with domestic and international private and public growing companies:

• M&A – mergers and acquisitions, company takeovers and takeover defences, corporate reconstructions and general corporate and strategic financial advice.
• Capital Markets – equity, hybrid and debt raisings; private raisings, IPO’s and secondary market issues; and corporate broking covering research and stakeholder communications.
• Active Management Services – provision of human, strategic and equity capital.

The expanded domestic team and offering will be enhanced by Henslow becoming the continuing Oaklins member firm in Australia. Oaklins is the world’s largest mid-market M&A advisor with the 60 offices in 40 countries completing over 1,500 deals, including many cross-border transactions, in the past 5 years.

Henslow Managing Director, Scott McInnes said “the merger is a significant development for Henslow. In addition to giving us a footprint in Australia’s major financial centres, the merger will provide our clients and staff with access to the Oaklins global network and the many opportunities it presents.  It will also expand our presence in public company M&A, where Baron has deep experience. Oaklins is a unique group of global boutique and specialist M&A firms with strong local connections, and as entrepreneurs themselves they can advise mid-market companies from strong position of knowledge.  We see a significant opportunity to continue to build on the deep relationships and trust that Baron has developed with our international colleagues over the past 20 years and look forward to expanding our business both domestically and internationally with our new partners.”

Baron Managing Director Paul Young said “the merger provides us with the opportunity to be part of a larger team of high calibre professionals and to expand our client offering into capital markets and active management services.  It will also allow for much greater resourcing of our existing Oaklins presence in Australia where we see enormous opportunities in cross border transactions and capital flows.”

Oaklins Executive Director, Chris Scales has commented, “We are very pleased to announce that Henslow has merged with our longstanding member in Australia, Baron Partners, and has   become a member of Oaklins International, the world’s leading M&A mid-market advisory organisation. This provides us with greater coverage and presence in a key and growing market.”

Contacts:

About Henslow

Henslow is an independent advisory firm that supports growing companies and their stakeholders through every phase of a business’s evolution. Working with entrepreneurs, management and investors, Henslow’s holistic and independent approach is to bring the right capital or to carry out the appropriate transaction at the right time that will maximise the outcome for the company and its stakeholders. Henslow is one of Australia’s few independent full-service firms that advises growth companies on M&A, capital markets and active management services.

About Baron

Baron has provided specialist corporate advisory services for over 30 years to Australian and international public and private mid-market companies, family and founder-owned businesses and to portfolio companies of private equity firms. Services cover a full range of critical corporate transactions including mergers and acquisitions, public company takeovers and takeover defences, corporate reconstructions, management of IPO and secondary issues and general corporate and strategic financial advice. Baron has been the sole Oaklins member firm in Australia since 1995.

About Oaklins

Oaklins is the world’s most experienced mid-market M&A advisor.  Its trusted senior specialists are professionals who have the skills and experience to ensure the best results for clients, whether at home or abroad and who meet regularly. Oaklins firms operate in 40 countries from 60 offices. Over 1,500 deals, including many cross-border transactions, have been completed in the past 5 years. Oaklins offers a comprehensive range of services including M & A advisory (buy and sell side), growth equity, ECM and debt advisory and general corporate finance advisory. Oaklins firms always involve industry specialists, take a global view and leverage deep local connections.  Every step of the way, Oaklins put clients first.