Cameron Belyea leads contested debt and capital market engagements, focusing on restructuring, corporate takeover, tax controversy engagements and complex insolvencies. He acts for sponsors, boards, financial institutions, funds, financial and investment banking advisors and turnaround advisers leading corporate restructures.
Cameron is recognised as a leading or pre-eminent litigator and restructuring lawyer across a range of directories, appearing as counsel and instructing in superior courts in all Australian jurisdictions – a standing that's reflected in his appointment as president of the Turnaround Management Association Australia.
Based in Western Australia, with a primary focus on commodities business, Cameron advises enterprises operating businesses within the agribusiness (including managed investment schemes) and energy and resources sectors – including pipelines, electricity, nickel, gold, platinum, tantalum, mineral sands, earth moving, mining and civil contracting & engineering, receivable portfolios, leisure and entertainment, healthcare, hospitality and accommodation, building, biotechnology, intellectual/real/personal property, and all manner of retail and services industries.
Cameron is also a member of the Law Council of Australia and various industry committees, and is a regular lecturer in the University of Western Australia's MBA program.
Expertise
Expand allCollapse all
Restructuring and Insolvency
- Insolvency Practitioners: Cameron acts for all major insolvency practitioners and workout teams in external administrations involving receivers, administrators and liquidators across a range of industries, typically in complex reconstructions or recoveries.
- Managed Investment Schemes: Cameron has acted on a number of reconstructions (mostly confidential) of MIS operators across the wine, timber and clothing industries. Public appointments include ARK/Rewards Group, Australian Growth, Great Southern and Timbercorp.
- Recapitalisations: Cameron led the restructure and return to trade of the manganese arm of an Singapore listed group (OM Manganese, via DOCA); provided board advisory support to the Australian subsidiary of an international oil and gas services conglomerate in an ongoing informal workout with noteholders; provided board advisory support to the Australian iron ore business of an international group of companies; advised the administrators in the restructuring via DOCA of the GO Energy group (power and energy trading) and led the assignments described below.
Restructuring
- Atlas Iron: Cameron acted for a senior lender within the security pack in the restructure and scheme of arrangement between the company and its lenders and in relation to its international financing arrangements.
- Arrium Group: Cameron led the Clayton Utz team acting for the Administrators of the Arrium Mining businesses, providing advice in relation to a range of instruments with shippers, international and domestic carriage and logistics providers, contractors, suppliers, infrastructure and offtaker parties.
- Mirabela Nickel: Cameron is advising international funds and noteholders in relation to listing issues and the structuring of foreign owned assets in the realisation of its South American subsidiary operations.
- Paladin Energy: Cameron provided advice for the company in its pre-administration negotiations with third party financiers, offtakers, noteholders and other counterparties.
- Energy and Resources companies: Cameron is advising a number of companies in respect of confidential safe harbour engagements and in the renegotiation of counterparty agreements, risk analysis and turnaround planning.
- Oil and Gas Services company: Cameron is advising an international fund in relation to the structuring and exit of its senior and equity positions in an emerging services provider to the oil and gas industry.
Insolvency
- Fairstar Resources: Cameron acted for the Court-appointed receivers in the sale of a junior iron ore resources aspirant.
- Real Estate Project: Cameron acted for an international fund in relation to a large real estate sub-division project and investigations regarding the finally leveraged sponsor, directors, advisors and associates.
- Westpoint Group: Cameron continues to act for liquidators across various entities in this financially leveraged property group.
See Restructuring and Insolvency
Debt Trading and Special Situation Investing
- Distressed Investing: Cameron is presently acting for a series of international funds in relation to real estate investments (special situations), notes and warrants investment into an Australian project (distressed trading), in relation to the Australian, Singaporean and European restructure of a mining listed sponsor.
- Sons of Gwalia: Cameron acted for the incoming purchasing consortium (RCF, Goldman Sachs, Fortress and others) in the contested purchase of assets from the administrators of the SOG group of companies.
- Schemes of Arrangement: Cameron's experience includes Bankwest/HBOS, Anaconda $300m scheme of arrangement with bondholders. Other schemes include AWE/Arc, Anatolia/Avoca, Bankwest/HBOS, Bank Queensland/Home Building Society, Home/Statewest, Ranger/Perilya, Central Norseman, Aquarius and Taipan.
See Debt Trading and Special Situation Investing
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
- Tax Controversy matters: Cameron's clients include international funds, international minerals companies, together with other parties involved in ongoing confidential disputes with State and Commonwealth revenue agencies.
- General Corporate: Cameron has recently completed or is undertaking litigation engagements across superior Australian courts covering matters of fraud, PPSA and security rights, deeds of company arrangement, director duties, security enforcement and "no transaction" forms of claim. Cameron has also recently negotiated out of court settlements in diverse matters covering financial instruments, agribusiness, collectibles and rarities, oil and gas production failures, mining services, projects and other commercial arrangements.
- Schemes of Arrangement: Cameron has most recently appeared as counsel on the Toxfree/Cleanaway, CMMC/Altona, Nomura/ASG, Talison, Sundance, Bankwest, Home Building Society schemes.
See Litigation and Dispute Resolution