The Resourceful Principal – hands on, communicative

Marina Papas

Principal
Marina Papas

With more than 30 years’ experience, she is recognised for her strategic thinking, global outlook and ability to deliver commercially focused outcomes for her clients.

Marina advises on all aspects of corporate and commercial law, including mergers and acquisitions, business divestments, due diligence, corporate governance and regulatory compliance. Her experience extends to negotiating complex commercial agreements and implementing sophisticated legal structures for clients across diverse industries.

Working closely with management teams, Marina brings a deep understanding of her clients’ commercial objectives, often contributing to their broader business strategy. Her client base includes large and mid-cap private companies, multinationals, professional services firms, start-ups and high-net-worth individuals in Australia and abroad.

Marina’s generalist commercial background enables her to identify legal issues across a variety of other practice areas including leasing, intellectual property, employment and business succession issues. Marina works closely with accountants and tax professionals in the course of structuring and assessing the potential outcomes of corporate and commercial transactions. Where her clients are involved in litigious matters, Marina plays an active role in ensuring that relevant strategy discussions align to the clients’ commercial objectives.

Focus Areas

  • Mergers, Acquisitions and Sales
  • Cross Boarder Transactions
  • Legal Due Diligence
  • Corporate Advisory/Governance
  • Commercial Contracting
  • Business advisory

 

 

Recognition and Thought Leadership

Marina also devotes time to the Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) providing legal coaching to the membership base to assist in the promotion of the commercialisation, development and promotion of Australian-inspired sports technologies.

 

Marina is an alumni member of INSEAD Business School. Marina is also a panel member of recommended legal advisors to Invest Victoria. She is often called upon to present to foreign delegations on doing business in Australia. Marina is fluent in both written and verbal Greek.

Notable Matters

  • MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS AND SALES/CROSS BORDER TRANSACTIONS
    • Acted for public financial services institution listed on New York Stock Exchange in acquisition of Australian company with overseas branches including legal due diligence and overall project management.
    • Acted for purchaser in acquisition of iconic Australian licensed hotel and gaming venue.
    • Acted in relation to all aspects of the sale of the business and business premises of Nutrition Care Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, a privately owned Melbourne-based business, to a subsidiary of a publicly listed company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange known as Ausnutria Dairy Corporation Ltd. Details of the sale were published in the Australian Financial Review.
    • Representing the distributor of medical devices and instruments in the sale of its business to an international buyer group, including providing advice in respect of structuring the transaction, responding to due diligence enquiries, negotiating sale documentation and navigating contemporaneous legal proceedings.
  • LEGAL DUE DILIGENCE
    • Conducting and preparing of legal due diligence reports in the course of transactions including preparation of data room protocols and policies.
    • Preparation of vendor red flag due diligence report in the course of acting for several shareholders (combination of owners, management team and owner employees with competing interests) in the sale of a national Australian family-owned regional business to American headquartered dealer network with 100 locations across North America, Europe and Australia. Transactional value in excess of one hundred million dollars.
    • Assisted foreign lawyers to facilitate purchase of Australian entities by American subsidiary of a Japanese corporation in respect of all Australian jurisdictional matters. Work conducted included making legal due diligence enquiries and advising on a stock purchase agreement. Relevant industry was manufacturing of steel framing and door related products for construction in America and Australia. Transaction value exceeded two hundred million in US currency.
  • CORPORATE ADVISORY/GOVERNANCE
    • Provides general advice to Boards and directors regarding Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) requirements and governance issues.
    • Advises businesses in respect of compliance with regulatory requirements including with respect to competition law, FIRB and Therapeutic Goods Administration requirements.
    • Preparation and advice regarding general and selective buy-back arrangements.
  • COMMERCIAL CONTRACTING/BUSINESS ADVISORY
    • Negotiating and preparing bespoke shareholder arrangements, service agreements and licences
    • Providing advice on trading term arrangements across different industries from both a customer and supplier perspective.
    • Preparing contracts to ensure compliance with unfair contracts regime and various consumer law requirements.
    • Providing general advice with respect to business structuring including review of constituent documents such as trust deeds and constitutions.
  • MULTI NATIONALS AND AUSTRALIAN SUBSIDIARIES
    • Representing multinational groups to establish offices in Australia including structuring considerations, lease and employee arrangements and protection of intellectual property.
    • Assisting American owned Australian subsidiary and distributor to manage labelling issue on safety related products.
    • Amalgamation of Australian subsidiaries with international parent company including obtaining FIRB approval, preparation of transaction documentation including transfer of employees, assets, intellectual property, leases and material contracts.

Area of Expertise