Bio
Dean is Counsel within the Corporate Group in the Cayman Islands and global co-head of SPACs.
Dean advises on a wide variety of corporate, securities and finance transactions with a particular focus on equity offerings (including special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) offerings), mergers and acquisitions (including public M&A, take privates and SPAC M&A), corporate restructurings and derivatives, structured products and repurchase and securities lending transactions. Dean co-authors the Legal 500 M&A Country Comparative Guide (Cayman Islands Chapter) and Mondaq M&A Comparative Guide (Cayman Islands Chapter).
Dean is experienced with ISDA and other industry standard trading and collateral documentation and regularly advises the sell and buy-side on netting, collateral and insolvency issues.
Dean is a member of Appleby’s technology and innovation group, supporting clients working on blockchain, AI, fintech and other emerging technologies.
Prior to joining Appleby, Dean was an Associate in the Structured Capital Markets team at Baker & McKenzie LLP in London, where he worked in the areas of capital markets, derivatives, financial regulation and structured finance. Dean also spent six months in Baker & McKenzie’s Moscow office working on a wide range of corporate and finance transactions across the CIS region. During his time at his previous law firm, Dean co-authored several articles and presented on derivatives regulation, clearing and regulatory capital.
REPRESENTATIVE DEALS AND EXPERIENCE
SPAC / De-SPAC*
US SPACs:
- Representing Lazard Growth Acquisition Corp. I on its $575m SPAC IPO on NASDAQ – sponsored by affiliates of Lazard Ltd.
- Representing Artisan Acquisition Corp. on its $300m SPAC IPO on NASDAQ – sponsored by C- Ventures and Dr. Adrian Cheng
- Representing Black Spade Acquisition Co on its $150m SPAC IPO on NYSE – sponsored by Black Spade Capital and Lawrence Ho
- Representing Gobi Acquisition Corporation on its $250m SPAC IPO on NASDAQ – sponsored by PAG
- Representing Endurance Acquisition Corp. on its $200m SPAC IPO on NASDAQ – sponsored by Antarctica Capital
Hong Kong SPACs:
- Various – Multiple ongoing Hong Kong SPAC IPO processes following the implementation of the Hong Kong SPAC regime under Chapter 18B of the Hong Kong listing rules
De-SPACs:
- Representing Alussa Energy Acquisition Corp. on its $1.4 billion de-SPAC business combination with FREYR AS
- Representing Artisan Acquisition Corp. on its $1.25 billion de-SPAC business combination with Prenetics Group Limited, creating Hong Kong’s first unicorn to list on NASDAQ
- Representing Silver Crest Acquisition Corporation on its ongoing de-SPAC transaction with Tim Hortons China
- Representing Endurance Acquisition Corp. on its ongoing de-SPAC transaction with SatixFy
*A more complete list of experience is available upon request subject to confidentiality for multiple ongoing IPOs and de-SPACs
Mergers & Acquisitions
- Representing a large corporate on the US$4 billion disposal of its power and infrastructure assets to a private equity house
- Representing the purchaser on the take private of an AIM listed Cayman Islands company
- Representing a Canadian listed mining company on its US$700 million business combination with a TSX listed Cayman Islands company
- Representing an oil major on its US$1.6 billion acquisition of oilfield and pipeline assets
Derivatives & Finance
- Advising US prime broker on its prime brokerage, repo and securities lending arrangements with Cayman Islands hedge fund clients including consideration of cross-collateralisation and set-off issues
- Representing a leading global investment bank on establishing an innovative collateralised intermediated swap arrangement with a large fund
- Providing netting opinions to a leading US bank covering transactions entered into with Cayman counterparties under its prime brokerage agreement, the New York and English law ISDA Master Agreement and credit support documentation and the Master Repurchase Agreement
- Advising US prime broker on the enforceability of its set-off arrangements under its OTC derivatives and futures trading agreements
- Regularly representing leading US and European financial institutions in connection with their OTC derivative transactions entered into with Cayman counterparties
- Regularly advising leading US financial institution on subscription finance and margin loan facilities with private equity borrowers
Representative experience (prior to joining Appleby):
- Representing a leading corporate trustee as convertible bond trustee in connection with a UK scheme of arrangement of a LSE listed issuer
- Representing a leading corporate trustee as security and note trustee in connection with a payment default and acceleration and enforcement of a secured loan participation note issuance involving oil assets located in Azerbaijan held through offshore structure
- Representing the trustees of a large UK pension scheme on a collateralised longevity swap transaction using a hybrid insurance/reinsurance structure with direct payments and collateral transfers between the scheme and reinsurer
- Representing multiple lenders and borrowers on interest rate and FX hedging
- Representing a European Rating Agency on the development of its UK covered bonds rating framework
EDUCATION:
University of Kent (England), Bachelor of Laws (LLB), First Class Honours.
