China Minmetals' acquisition of OZ Minerals has been awarded the Energy and Resources Deal of the Year at the 2010 ALB Australasian Law Awards, which was held last Thursday in Sydney.

The US$1.4bn landmark transaction, which was completed in June 2009, was originally structured to include the acquisition of 100% of OZ Minerals but had to be restructured following the Australian Government's objection to the acquisition of the Prominent Hill mine in the Woomera Prohibited Area.

China Minmetals and OZ Minerals, together with their external advisors, renegotiated and revamped the transaction within a very tight time frame. In addition, the need for complex restructuring (to de-link corporate entities holding assets being sold from those being retained by OZ Minerals and re-financing of loans at completion) had led to a complex escrow agreement and completion process.

Blake Dawson represented China Minmentals, while Freehills advised OZ Minerals in the transaction.  Mallesons Stephen Jaques also played an important role in the restructuring of OZ Minerals as the legal advisor to Societe Generale.

Yanzhou Coal's acquisition of Felix Resources was also among the six finalists for this award. The US$2.9bn deal was the biggest ever Chinese deal in the Australian coal sector and was the first state-owned enterprise that was able to acquire 100% of a listed company in Australia. It also involved managing disclosures on three exchanges - Sydney, Shanghai and Hong Kong. King & Wood, Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Baker & McKenzie acted for Yanzhou Coal, and Allens Arthur Robinson was the legal counsel to Felix Resources.

A full list of winners and finalists can be found on the ALB Law Awards website at www.albawards.com

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