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James Riddell

Senior Partner, M&A Transaction Services | Global Leader | Infrastructure M&A

James is the global leader of Infrastructure M&A for Deloitte, leading specialists teams in London, Sydney, Melbourne, New York and Toronto advising financial investors on matters ranging from diligence, structuring, cost reduction as well as macro-economic advice for brownfield investments in transport and energy infrastructure assets in Europe, Australasia and the Americas. With more than 30 years professional experience and more than 20 years as a partner of Deloitte in both Australia and the United Kingdom, James is recognised globally as one of the leading advisors to listed and unlisted fund managers and direct investors including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies.

After making partner in 1999, James led a number of high profile audits including APA Group, Sydney Airport, Vodafone and Oil Search, before advising Macquarie on a number of infrastructure linked IPOs in the early 2000s. In 2005, James relocated to London, becoming a Deloitte UK partner (2005-2012) where he established the first specialist infrastructure M&A practice advising many of the newly established unlisted infrastructure funds as they became the dominant form of investor in core transport and energy infrastructure assets. Post the GFC, our Deloitte Infra M&A practiced pivoted as the market re-emerged with direct investors developing their own capability to invest and compete directly with the established infrastructure fund managers.

In 2012, James relocated back to Australia just as government privatisations as part of asset recycling programs began covering sectors ranging from ports, both bulk commodity and container ports, electricity transmission and distribution assets and more recently technology led land titles and other registry assets. in sectors including ports, electricity transmission and distribution as well as technology led land and other registry assets. James had already established strong relationships with many of the foreign financial investors establishing offices in Australia as they teamed up with local infrastructure investors to pursue these investment opportunities. James led teams that successfully advised bidders on 2 port transactions, a poles and wires asset as well as the 2 largest land registry assets through this period.

James has developed over the course of his career deep experience in both core infrastructure assets including, airports, toll roads, rail (rolling stock and high speed rail), bulk commodity and container ports, regulated water utilities, gas pipelines and electricity transmission and distribution assets as well as new and emerging asset classes (core +) including car parks, registry assets, tower assets, data centre assets, and LNG processing, mid-stream and up-stream assets.

Qualifications
  • Bachelor of Economics, University of Sydney, Australia
  • Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and Registered Company Auditor
  • Affiliate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales