Australia’s leading independent law firm, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, has advised Silver Lake Resources (Silver Lake) on a A$2.2 billion proposed ‘merger of equals’ with Red 5 Limited (Red 5) to create ASX’s fifth largest gold producer.

Silver Lake has entered into a scheme implementation deed with Red 5 pursuant to which the two companies have agreed to merge by way of a Silver Lake scheme of arrangement, with the merged group being owned 51.7% (Red 5) : 48.3% (Silver Lake). The merged entity is to be led by Mr Russell Clark (existing Red 5 Chairman) and Mr Luke Tonkin (existing Silver Lake Managing Director & CEO), with the board of the merged entity comprising four directors from each of the current Red 5 and Silver Lake boards. If implemented, the merger will create a leading mid-tier gold company with diversified operations and a strong balance sheet available to pursue growth through the combination of highly complementary assets and balance sheets.

Led by partner Russell Philip, Corrs advised on all aspects of the transaction, with a multidisciplinary team from the corporate, energy and natural resources, banking and finance, employment and property practice groups, including partners Peter Jarosek, Simon Reid, Giacomo Giorgi and Rebecca Field.

Commenting on the matter, Corrs partner Russell Philip said: “Corrs is delighted to be working with Silver Lake on its proposed merger with Red 5. The transaction is a great example of two complementary gold producers working together to create additional value for both sets of shareholders.

“Drawing on the expertise across multiple Corrs practice groups was central to bringing this significant transaction into fruition, highlighting the firm’s capability in advising on the most strategically important transactions in the energy and resources industry.”