We represent domestic and international businesses in a wide array of legal matters in the consumer products and retail industry, including in all aspects of corporate transactional work as well as in issues of business strategy, corporate governance, employee benefits, intellectual property, and litigation and arbitration.
Grupo Bimbo in Sara Lee Acquisitions
We advised Grupo Bimbo, one of the largest baking companies in the world, and its U.S. subsidiary, BBU, in the successful acquisition of Sara Lee’s North American Fresh Bakery business. We also advised Grupo Bimbo in its acquisition of Sara Lee’s Fresh Bakery business in Spain and Portugal, positioning Grupo Bimbo as the leading branded bread company on the Iberian Peninsula.
Practices: M&A, Antitrust and Competition, Environmental Law, Executive Compensation and ERISA, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Real Estate, and Tax
Offices: New York and Washington
Other Prominent M&A Transactions
We were called upon to advise on several other significant acquisitions in the sector in 2011, including as counsel to:
- The Coca-Cola Company in connection with its proposed acquisition of Great Plains Coca-Cola Bottling Company.
- J. Crew in its acquisition by TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners.
- Stanley Black & Decker in its $1.2 billion acquisition of Niscayah, a leading commercial security and monitoring company specializing in electronic security services and solutions.
- TPG Capital in the sale of Mey İçki Sanayi ve Ticaret, Turkey’s leading spirits manufacturer, to the drinks group Diageo for approximately £1.3 billion.
- SABMiller on tax aspects of its $11 billion acquisition of Foster’s Group.
- Sodiaal, the leading French dairy cooperative group, in the acquisition and debt restructuring of Entremont Alliance, a European cheese manufacturer.
- Lenovo in its joint venture with Compal Electronics.
Practices: M&A, Private Equity, Antitrust and Competition, Bankruptcy and Restructuring, Capital Markets, Executive Compensation and ERISA, Intellectual Property, Litigation, and Tax
Offices: Brussels, Cologne, Frankfurt, London, Milan, New York, Paris, Rome, and Washington
TPG Capital and VTB Capital in Shareholder Dispute
As counsel to a joint venture between TPG Capital and VTB Capital, the investment business of one of Russia’s leading banks, we advised in a high-profile shareholder dispute over control of a $2 billion Russian retail group. The dispute spawned a mass of litigation, involving the coordination of offensive and defensive strategies by our lawyers in numerous proceedings and hearings across three continents.
These proceedings involved 11 hearings in London before the English Commercial Court and the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA); four hearings and three sets of proceedings in the British Virgin Islands; and over 60 sets of proceedings in the Russian arbitrazh and labor courts. All disputes were successfully resolved in August 2011, when our clients took full control of the retail group.
Practices: Litigation, Corporate Finance, Executive Compensation and ERISA, M&A, Private Equity, and Tax
Offices: London, Moscow, and New York
Istithmar in Successful Consummation of Loehmann’s Chapter 11 Plan
In March 2011, we advised Istithmar, a Dubai-based investment firm, in the Chapter 11 proceedings of its portfolio company Loehmann’s Holdings, the 90-year-old discount clothing retailer. Loehmann’s emerged from bankruptcy protection just three and a half months after commencing a pre-negotiated Chapter 11 case.
Practice: Bankruptcy and Restructuring
Office: New York
Key Capital Markets Transactions
Our lawyers were also active in capital markets transactions in the sector that spanned the globe, including as counsel to:
- Family Dollar in its $300 million SEC-registered notes offering.
- The underwriters in The Hershey Company’s $250 million SEC-registered debt offering.
- Hi-mart, the largest consumer electronics retailer in Korea, and the selling shareholders in its Won 420 billion IPO.
- Lotte Shopping, a leading retailer with the largest chain of department stores in Korea, in its $400 million notes offering.
Practices: Capital Markets, Executive Compensation and ERISA, and Tax
Offices: Hong Kong and New York