DLA Piper has advised Palisade Investment Partners Limited (Palisade), on behalf of funds that it manages, on the acquisition of a significant equity stake with board representation in HCL Limited Partnership, HCL LP General Partner Limited and International Connectivity Services Limited.

The HCL groups own and operate the Hawaiki Submarine Cable - a newly constructed 15,000 km submarine fibre optic cable running between Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and mainland USA. With a design capacity of 42 Tbps, Hawaiki will be the highest cross-sectional capacity link between Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

DLA Piper advised on all aspects of the transaction including structuring and due diligence, to negotiating and drafting all transaction documents.

The cross-border DLA Piper team was led by Corporate partner Emma Kendall, with James Philips, Jonathan Higgs and Amina Karcic, Finance partner Kate Papailiou with Kimberly Eichorn, and Tax partner Eddie Ahn, advising in Australia. In New Zealand the team included Corporate lawyers led by Country Managing Partner, Martin Wiseman, with Sam Wilson and Geoff Ward-Marshall. In the UK, specialist sub-sea cable advice from Mike Conradi and Jennifer Gibbons, and in the US, telecommunications regulatory advice from Nancy Victory and John Beahn.

Emma Kendall said: "We are delighted to have worked with Palisade Investment Partners on this deal which really shows how cross border teams can work well for clients. The Hawaiki Submarine Cable is an incredibly important project, providing faster connections, greater access to broadband and boosting socio-economic development across the Pacific region."