Ashton Goatley
Partner
Ashton is a corporate partner in the Auckland office of Webb Henderson.
He has experience advising on complex transactions and regulatory matters for both New Zealand and overseas clients, including joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, overseas investment into New Zealand, corporate governance matters, and commercial contracts.
Ashton’s experience includes advising, alongside others at Webb Henderson:
- Pacific Equity Partners on regulatory aspects of its investment in the FirstCape joint venture with NAB and Jarden;
- Fonterra Co-operative Group on all aspects of its ‘Flexible Shareholding’ capital structure;
- the New Zealand Superannuation Fund on the $2.12 billion sale of Kiwibank to the Crown;
- Macquarie Asset Management on its $200 million cornerstone investment in Winton Land’s IPO;
- major participants in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme on their compliance obligations;
- Indevin Group on its acquisition of New Zealand wine producer, Villa Maria Estate;
- Mercury Capital on its investments in Recreational Services Limited (and bolt-on acquisition of Urban Maintenance Systems NZ) and Architectus Aotearoa Limited; and
- Genesis Energy on its strategic review of its 46% shareholding in the Kupe oil and gas joint venture.
Ashton is an author of the 2019-2024 Chambers Global Practice Guide on Corporate Governance (New Zealand) and the 2024 Chambers Global Practice Guide on Investing in New Zealand. He was also selected as an NZ Lawyer Rising Star for 2021 and was an Excellence Awardee in the category of Young Private Practice Lawyer of the Year at the 2021 and 2024 New Zealand Law Awards.
