Boutique firm Kain Lawyers routinely advises on mid-market transactions, including public and private M&A and reverse takeovers, and is also equipped to advise on corporate disputes. In Sydney, John Kain, the founder and managing director of the firm, has over 25 years of experience in M&A and equity capital markets, and his practice also extends to private equity transactions. Michael Garry and James Burchnall co-lead the group in Adelaide, where they oversee the firm’s public and private M&A offering.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Kain has a great culture, cemented by their young leadership team.'
- 'Pragmatic, commercial, astute, smart negotiators and highly dependable. The team is resilient and in high-paced environments, this is a crucial attribute. They have never let their clients down whilst finalising transactions. They do all of this whilst keeping their sense of humour and collegiality.'
- 'A very commercially focused team, always thinking about potential risks and the outcome sought. Love working with them.'
- 'Smart and approachable individuals.'
- 'Michael Garry is highly experienced in funds management and has played a key role in our own firm’s development and growth.'
- 'A highly commercial firm that takes a practical approach to transactions.'
- 'The team approach transactions from a commercial perspective. They start by understanding what are we trying to achieve and build their advice and services around that. They understand us and our business.'
- 'They really care about our business and give above-and-beyond service.'
Key clients
- Kelsian Group Limited
- Premier Health Care Pty Ltd
- Roc Partners
- Consilium Technology Pty Ltd
- KeyInvest Limited
- Waveconn Operations Pty Ltd
- YES Group (SA) Pty Ltd
- Equity Partners
- Cibus Capital LLP
- Complexica Pty Ltd
- Silk Laser Clinics
- Alium Capital Management
- Inheritance Capital Asset Management (ICAM Pty Ltd)
- elmTEK Pty Ltd
- SC Capital Partners
- Engage Marine Holdings Pty Ltd
- Conscious Investment Management Pty Ltd
- GrainCorp
- ResourceCo Pty Ltd
- Zen Energy
- Nash Advisory Pty Ltd
Work highlights
- Advised Kelsian Group on its $325m acquisition of All Aboard America! Holdings and the associated A$281m capital raising.
- Advised Roc Partners entity Longriver Farms on the sale of Emerald Grain to global commodity trader Louis Dreyfus.
- Advised KeyInvest on its merger with Australian Friendly Society (AFS), creating a merged entity with combined funds under management of approximately $400m and approximately 49,800 members.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
John Kain, Managing Director, Michael Garry, Director, James Burchnall, Director