Haynes Boone has advised WA Capital, the family office established in 2010 by Sir Will Adderley, on its acquisition of a minority stake in the general partners of funds managed by Goanna Capital Management. Goanna is a global investment firm founded by Robert Hilmer that focuses on private markets, managing approximately $850 million on behalf of its investors.
The Haynes Boone Investment Management team was led by London Partner Karma Samdup, with support from Associate Mina-Marie Doherty and Trainee Solicitor Zainab Al-Qaimi. The team was assisted at the outset by United States Partners Madelyn Calabrese and Don Shiman, who provided structuring and tax advice. The transaction involved cross-border coordination between the firm’s global offices.
“We are very pleased to have advised WA Capital on acquiring a stake in Goanna, from the initial structuring advice provided by our U.S. counterparts to completing the transaction with our team here in London,” said Samdup. “It was a pleasure to have worked with Sir Will Adderley and the WA Capital team, and we look forward to working with them again in the future.”
Goanna’s investments span high-profile companies across the globe, such as Canva, xAI and other innovative businesses including Ramp, Databricks, Rippling, Figma, Island and CoreWeave. These investments are funneled through Goanna’s various funds and 45 co-investment vehicles, spanning its two complementary strategies: direct private technology and private equity secondaries. Goanna’s investor base includes family offices from Australia, the Middle East, the UK and Switzerland, as well as a New Zealand pension fund.
“Thank you to the Haynes Boone team for their support on this investment,” said Sir Will Adderley, the founder of WA Capital. “Their technical expertise combined with their practical commercial advice was instrumental in completing the investment in quick order while ensuring we had the right protections in the circumstances.”
The Investment Management Practice Group provides assistance with the formation and ongoing operation of investment funds engaging in a broad spectrum of investment activities, from general investment in listed stocks to targeted acquisitions in a wide variety of industries, including in technology, digital assets, energy, real property, venture, businesses and investments. The team represents both domestic and offshore investment vehicles and serves as lead outside counsel to numerous investment funds who, combined, have tens of billions of dollars in assets under management. The London team has unparalleled experience acting as cross-border counsel to U.K. and European fund managers who want to access capital across the globe.
