Nick Kovacevich Partner
BA, LLB (Hons), University of Auckland
- Profile
- Experience
Nick leads the Corporate and Commercial team at Couch Harlowe Kovacevich.
He specialises in mergers and acquisitions (both domestic and cross border), private equity and venture capital investment, and general corporate and commercial law.
Nick has been ranked as a Leading Next Generation Lawyer for M&A in the Legal 500.
- Advising Tokyo Stock Exchange listed Nomura on its acquisition of Planit Software and on its subsequent acquisitions of Qual IT and SEQA.
- Advising the shareholders of Orchestra on the sale of the company to Sharesies.
- Advising Darby Capital Partners on the sale of shares in Noggin to New York Stock Exchange listed Motorola.
- Advising US private equity firm, GenStar Capital, on its acquisition of Likewize from Brightstar Capital.
- Advising the shareholders of DEFEND, New Zealand’s leading cybersecurity firm, on the sale of a majority stake in the company to Vodafone.
- Advising the private equity arm of ASX listed Hancock & Gore, along with its portfolio company Mountcastle, on the acquisition of Argyle Schoolwear.
- Advising Euronext listed EssilorLuxottica on its acquisition of a controlling stake in Optimed NZ, and then on the subsequent minority buyout of shares in the company.
- Advising Chris Heaslip, the founder of NZX and ASX listed Pushpay, on his fully underwritten block trade sell down of Pushpay shares (which won an Excellence Award at the 2021 New Zealand Law Awards in the Equity Market Deal of the Year category).
- Advising AF Drinks on the investment in the company by Convivialité Ventures, the venture capital arm of global beverage giant Pernod Ricard.
- Advising Whitecliffe Education (the owner of the Whitecliffe Universities) on its acquisition of a stake in MDH University (Mediadesign Hochschule), a leading German media design institution.
- Advising Neo Engineering on the sale of its business to global engineering firm, Mott MacDonald.
- Advising the purchaser on the MBO of Ogilvy New Zealand from London Stock Exchange listed WPP.
- Advising Canadian Securities Exchange listed Tiidal Gaming on the sale of Sportsflare, its e-sports betting software business, to London Stock Exchange listed Entain.
- Advising Hype & Dexter and its shareholders on the sale of the company to Avidly, a global digital marketing agency.
- Advising Nasdaq listed Naked Brand Group on the management buyout of iconic New Zealand apparel business, Bendon.
- Advising the shareholders of Forme SPA (New Zealand's largest day spa group) on the sale of the company to Endota (Australia's largest day spa group).
- Advising Cardinal Logistics on a major logistics industry automation project.
- Advising the founder of BePure Health, Ben Warren, on his selldown of shares to a private equity acquirer.
- Advising leading New Zealand advertising agency, Stanley St, on its commercial contracting, client and campaign arrangements.
- Advising the founders of Caci, New Zealand’s leading provider of skin and appearance treatments, on their share selldown to private equity firm Direct Capital.
- Advising education technology company, Joy Business Academy, on its merger with Silicon Valley company, Tribal Planet, and its subsequent post-merger Series B Capital Raising.
- Advising leading social media agency, Socialites, on a number of bolt-on acquisitions and contracts for key client accounts.
- Advising Delta Insurance on its brokerage contracts and other commercial contracts, and also on its regulatory licensing.
- Advising the purchaser on the management buyout of the National Business Review (NBR).
- Advising Pan-African land developer, Rendeavour, on joint ventures for its development of new cities in Nigeria and Ghana.
- Advising finance brokerage firm Vega on its merger with leading New Zealand real estate firm Bayleys.
- Advising Maui Capital on a number of growth capital investments.
- Advising Molteno Ophthalmic on the acquisition of its business by ASX listed Nova Eye Medical.
- Advising Pioneer Capital and other private equity vendors on the sale of Konnect.
- Advising the New Zealand Warriors on the sale of the club to a consortium comprising Auckland Rugby League and Autex.
- Advising Church Property Trustees on its joint venture with the New Zealand Government for the regeneration of the Christchurch Cathedral.
- Advising Nestlé on its acquisition of Pfizer’s global infant nutrition business.
- Advising SKY TV on its Series A investment in 90 Seconds, which was led by Sequoia Capital.
- Advising leading New Zealand growth technology companies on Series A and Series B capital raisings, including Pushpay, Vend and First AML.
- Advising EnviroWaste on its sale to Cheung Kong Infrastructure.
Expertise
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Private equity and venture capital investment
- Capital raisings
- Shareholder arrangements
- Joint ventures and strategic partnerships
- Employee share schemes
- Property syndications
- Wholesale investment funds
- Restructurings
- Corporate governance
- Commercial contracts (including supply, distribution and manufacturing)
- Franchising and licensing
- Intellectual property commercialisation
Get in touch
DDI
+64 9 217 0544
M
+64 21 851 444
E
nick.kovacevich@chk.law