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Expertise

Kieran Trant is a partner and a member of the US Business and Inward Investment Groups at Matheson.

Kieran practices corporate law and works with international companies on the establishment, expansion and operation of their businesses in Ireland. Kieran also advises clients on the complex legal and commercial issues that can arise on international transactions involving Irish subsidiaries of overseas companies, including advising on a broad range of corporate reorganisations.

As their Irish corporate counsel, Kieran also advises multinational companies on a broad range of corporate governance and general commercial issues, including directors' duties and compliance matters. In addition, he provides ongoing corporate advice and strategic counselling to clients, including advice in relation to distributions and complex cash repatriation strategies.

Kieran was previously seconded to Matheson’s Palo Alto and San Francisco offices and is a frequent visitor to the San Francisco Bay Area and other US locations where his clients are based.

Experience Highlights
  • Providing ongoing strategic advice as standing Irish corporate counsel to numerous international companies in the technology, life sciences and other industry sectors.
  • Advising international corporations on some of the largest and significant establishment and expansion projects in Ireland.
  • Advising numerous Fortune 100 US multinationals on the planning and implementation of group-wide international restructurings, including IP and other business reorganisations, pre- and post-acquisition integration transactions, consolidation and rationalisation projects, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, supply chain restructurings, spin-off, carve out and separation transactions, as well as cash and dividend repatriation strategies.
  • Managing significant multi-jurisdictional international reorganisations.
Accolades

Kieran Trant is "responsive, flexible in terms of arriving at tailored legal solutions, and has a strong commercial understanding".
European Legal 500 2020

Kieran Trant "does a wonderful job".
Chambers Europe 2019

Kieran Trant is "always available and provides excellent advice. I’m continuously impressed with his broad experience, and his ability to leverage that to get us the best possible outcome".
Chambers Europe 2019

Education

University College Cork (BCL)

University College Cork (LLM)

Law Society of Ireland, Solicitor

Decision on Fiduciary Duties

Jan 23, 2020, 12:10 PM
The High Court of England and Wales has issued an important judgment concerning the fiduciary duties of directors. Sharp v Blank concerned a claim by 5800 claimants against the chairman and four out of the 13 directors of Lloyds Bank at the time for damages of £385 million arising out of decisions they made in relation to the takeover by Lloyds of HBOS.
Title : Decision on Fiduciary Duties
Filter services i ds : a5faa30f-5dbb-45a0-ac57-91b70be7c811;
Engagement Time : 2
Insight Type : Article
Insight Date : Jan 23, 2020, 12:10 PM
The High Court of England and Wales has issued an important judgment concerning the fiduciary duties of directors.
Sharp v Blank concerned a claim by 5800 claimants against the chairman and four out of the 13 directors of Lloyds Bank at the time for damages of £385 million arising out of decisions they made in relation to the takeover by Lloyds of HBOS.  The acquisition had been approved at an EGM with 96% in favour of the unanimous board recommendation to proceed with the acquisition.  The claimants’ case was that the board should not have recommended the acquisition because it implemented a dangerous and value destroying strategy which involved unacceptably risky decisions.

They also argued that the board should have provided better quality information to shareholders in relation to the transaction.  The court was not persuaded that the failures identified to provide sufficient information to shareholders caused any loss.  If the shareholders had been presented with the relevant information, they would not have reached a conclusion other than that which they did in fact reach.  The court did not accept that in relation to the stock market announcement relating to the takeover, the defendant directors personally owed a common law duty of care to each Lloyds shareholder.

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