b'Left: Andrew Wong, Guy Alexander and Charles Ashton in Paris during the Unibail-Rodamco and Westfield Corporation transaction, 2018.Below left: Trent Czinner and Iaki Berroeta from Vodafone with Chris Prestwich and Fiona Crosbie from Allens arriving at the Federal Court in Melbourne, 2019.In 2000 Rio Tinto famously called the bluff of institutional investors trying to force the company to increase its offer price for the 28 per cent of Comalco it didnt already own. The investors held out accepting the deal until they were sure Rio Tinto had missed the opportunity to lodge an extension. They were unaware, however, that with the assistance of the Allens team, Rio Tinto had obtained agreement from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to lodge the extension outside normal work hours. They accepted the deal and, when the ASX opened the next morning, discovered Rio Tintos carefully executed planit had acquired the necessary 90 per cent of Comalco shares needed to compulsorily acquire the rest.Connecting the communications industry Sydney Airport fly buyIn 2020 Allens assisted longstanding client VodafoneDuring the COVID-19 pandemic Allens advised Sydney Hutchison Australia to secure a transformational mergerAirport on a $23.6 billion takeover bid from a consortium with TPG Telecom. Opposed by the Australian Competitionof Australian and international infrastructure investors. and Consumer Commission, the team sought confirmationFinalised in 2022, the transaction was significant, not only from the Federal Court that the merger would notas the largest cash takeover in Australian corporate history, substantially lessen competition in the mobile and fixedbut because it occurred when the airports operations were broadband markets. The hearing proceeded on a highlydisrupted by the closure of the nations borders. Allens accelerated timeline and the Federal Court approved theadvised the Sydney Airport board through the first, second merger in what was Australias biggest merger litigation and third offers, which saw an uplift in value of $1.3 billion in more than a decade. over the initial offer.229'