Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann

The Government is pleased to announce the appointment of four new members to the Takeovers Panel. 

The Takeovers Panel is a mechanism for peer review of takeovers activity and facilitates an efficient, expeditious and less formal process of regulating takeovers in Australia.

Mr Lee Dewhirst, Mr Byron Koster, Mr Andrew Lumsden and Mr Robert McKenzie have been appointed as new members of the Takeovers Panel.

Mr Lee Dewhirst is a special counsel at Thomson Geer, with more than 20 years experience in corporate advisory work and banking and finance.  Previously, he was managing partner of Finlaysons Lawyers.  He has acted in relation to a number of major banking and finance transactions and a number of major mergers and acquisitions and takeover projects.

Mr Byron Koster is a partner at Johnson Winter & Slattery.  He specialises in large-scale public mergers and acquisitions transactions, including advising on hostile takeover bids, structuring multi-billion dollar mergers and planning high profile acquisitions.  He was previously a member of the Takeovers Panel from 2004 to 2013. 

Mr Andrew Lumsden is a partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth.  He regularly advises Australian and overseas clients on contested and negotiated takeovers as well as corporate and securities law matters.  He was previously a member of the Takeovers Panel from 2002 to 2011.

Mr Robert McKenzie is a partner at Jackson McDonald and a former partner at Clayton Utz.  He regularly acts in resolving corporate disputes, in hostile corporate meetings and in the sale, purchase and financing of businesses and assets, and structuring of projects in a diverse range of industry sectors.  He has represented parties in a number of successful Takeovers Panel applications.

These four appointees will boost the number of Takeovers Panel members to 41, maintaining the high level of skills and experience available.  

All members have been appointed for three years up to and including 20 August 2017.