Squire Patton Boggs has acted as co-counsel with Mills Oakley, advising a Boston-based SEC registered investment firm and secured lender of Jervois Global Limited and certain subsidiaries (Jervois group) (Chapter 11 Debtors), in respect of a global cross-border take-private transaction for the Jervois group pursuant to voluntary cases commenced by Jervois under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code on 28 January 2025 (Chapter 11 Cases) and concurrent voluntary administrations and deed of company arrangement in Australia.
The Jervois group has been a leading global supplier of advanced, manufactured cobalt products, and has served customers in the powder metallurgy, battery, and chemical industries, with principal assets of an operating cobalt facility in Finland, a cobalt mine in Idaho, U.S.A and a refinery in Brazil.
The restructuring transactions implemented through the Chapter 11 Cases and voluntary administration procedures in Australia have achieved:
- a holistic worldwide balance sheet restructuring and recapitalisation transaction, including debtor-in-possession financing to the Chapter 11 Debtors to support the Chapter 11 Cases;
- a corporate reorganisation of the global Jervois group;
- access to new financing following the Jervois group’s emergence for go-forward mining operations; and
- implementation of the Chapter 11 plan in Australia through the voluntary administration process.
The Squire Patton Boggs Sydney team advised on the Australian corporate, finance, employment and tax aspects of the transaction and was led by Financial Services partner Rachel Jones and Labour and Employment partner Nicola Martin.
Ms. Jones said: “It was a privilege to work alongside Mills Oakley in supporting the secured lender on this first-in-kind transaction. This global restructuring provides Jervois with access to necessary financing to support future operations and marks a significant development in cross-border restructuring transactions of this kind.”