Willkie has extensive experience in the food industry. We represent general and specialty manufacturers, supermarkets and restaurants, as well as investment banks, hedge funds and other investors in the areas of M&A, capital markets, finance, litigation, and business reorganization and restructuring.
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Experience
- Insight Venture Partners in connection with Delivery Hero AG’s $1.1 billion IPO.
- Deutsche Bank in the private placement of $21 million of New York Restaurant Corp. convertible preferred stock.
- Roquette in a private placement of unsecured senior notes in the United States with an aggregate deal value of $175 million.
- Bass, an international group operating in four main areas: hotels and resorts; pubs, restaurants and entertainment venues; brewing; and soft drinks, in connection with corporate representation on executive compensation and employee benefits-related issues.
- B&G Foods, Inc. in connection with its issuance of $550 million of senior secured notes and the amendment of its $1.55 billion amended and restated credit agreement.
- Bonduelle in its private placements of €150 million and $50 million of senior notes in connection with its acquisition of Ready Pac Foods.
- Eurazeo, a leading European investment company, in the acquisition finance aspects of its €405 million acquisition of Iberchem, a global producer of fragrances and flavors.
- JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. in the refinancing of Golden West Food Group, Inc.’s existing credit facility.
- Senior/mezzanine financing for the acquisition of Logan’s Roadhouse, a chain of restaurants founded in 1991 offering BBQ and American fare.
- Bank of Nova Scotia v. Safeway: Advised on the arbitration in Denver before the AAA on a contract dispute over alleged breach of a beef supply agreement.
- Participated in an investigation into potential accounting issues involving Lancer Corporation, the leading manufacturer and marketer of beverage dispensing systems.
- Allied Beverage Group in its merger with Breakthru Beverage Group New Jersey, creating an integrated company under the Allied Beverage Group name that will continue to be New Jersey’s leading wholesale liquor distributor.
- Ardian on the sale of Solina, the leading European manufacturer of ingredient and seasoning blends for the food industry, to Astorg.
- Atlas Holdings in its acquisition of the Snacks Division of TreeHouse Foods.
- Bain Capital Credit in its acquisition of GAIL’s Bakery, a fast growing and critically acclaimed retail bakery and cafe.
- Balcones Distilling in its acquisition by Diageo.
- BMO Sponsor Finance in financing the acquisition of Bevolution Group by Sunny Sky Products, a portfolio company of The Jordan Company.
- Bold Rock Partners LP, the #2 cider brand in the U.S., in its acquisition by Craft Revolution, LLC d/b/a Artisanal Brewing Ventures LLC.
- The Bonduelle Group in its sale of a 65% stake in Bonduelle Americas Long Life to Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
- Bonduelle in its acquisition of Ready Pac Foods.
- CapVest Partners and its portfolio companies in the following transactions:
- its agreement to sell portfolio company Eight Fifty Food Group to Sofina Food Inc.
- CapVest and its portfolio company Karro Food Group in the acquisition of Young’s Seafood.
- its acquisition of leading European chocolate maker Natra.
- in its acquisition of Second Nature Brands, a leading creator of snacks and treats.
- in the sale of its portfolio company, leading food manufacturer Valeo Foods, to Bain Capital.
- CapVest and its portfolio company Valeo Foods in its acquisition of Campbell’s European Chips Business.
- Cérélia Group, a leading French producer of rolled dough and pancakes in Europe, in the following transactions:
- its proposed acquisition of General Mills’ European dough businesses.
- its acquisition of US Waffle, a privately-held frozen foods manufacturing company based in South Carolina.
- its acquisition of North American cookie specialist English Bay Batter, and its related leveraged refinancing.
- CTH Invest SA, a Ferrero-related company, in its acquisition of Nonni’s Bakery.
- CVC in its acquisition of a majority stake in The Quality Group, a leading manufacturer of innovative sports performance nutrition products and low-sugar food alternatives.
- Constantia Flexibles in the sale of its Labels division to Multi-Color Corporation for an enterprise value of approximately $1.3 billion.
- Ferrara Candy Company, the largest sugar confections company in the U.S., in its acquisition of Dori Alimentos, one of Brazil’s leading manufacturers and distributors of sweets and snacks.
- FFL Partners in its sale of Church’s Chicken®, one of the world’s largest quick service chicken restaurant chains, to High Bluff Capital Partners and investment funds managed by FS Investments.
- Flagstone Foods, a portfolio company of Atlas Holdings, in its acquisition of Emerald Nuts from Campbell Soup Company.
- Fresh Express Incorporated, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chiquita Holdings Limited, in the acquisition of Dole plc’s Fresh Vegetables Division.
- Garnett Station Partners in its acquisition of Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming.
- HK Food GmbH in its sale of German seafood brand Nordsee Holding GmbH to Kharis Capital via KC North Sea, an investment vehicle managed by Kharis.
- HungerRush, a Capstreet portfolio company and leading cloud software provider for the restaurant industry, in the following transactions:
- its acquisition of Menufy, an industry-leading online food ordering platform and network.
- its acquisition of OrdrAI™, a leading text and voice ordering provider for the restaurant industry.
- IK Investment Partners in the following transactions:
- the proposed sale of its stake in Mademoiselle Desserts, a leading European manufacturer of frozen pastries, to the Emmi Group.
- its sale of Cérélia Group to Ardian, through its IK VII Fund.
- its acquisition of Mademoiselle Desserts, a French leader in the frozen bakery industry.
- IMB Partners and its portfolio company Pro Foods Solutions, a leading food supplier to the U.S. military worldwide, in connection with a $130 million dividend recapitalization.
- Insight Partners on its majority investment in OptoScale, a leading Norwegian aquaculture technology company.
- Jeremy Renner in connection with his acquisition of an ownership interest in Sweet Grass Vodka.
- Keg Logistics LLC in its acquisition of Keg Credit, LLC, which combines two of the leading keg providers in the U.S. craft brewing industry.
- Lagardère Travel Retail, a French airport shop operator, in the following transactions:
- its acquisition of global catering company Marché International AG.
- its $330 million acquisition of HBF, a leading foodservice travel retailer in North America, creating the third largest player in the North American travel retail and foodservice Industry.
- Mademoiselle Desserts (backed by IK Investment Partners) in is acquisition of Les Délices des 7 Vallées, a French-based producer of frozen industrial cakes and pastries, from Sagard.
- Minor International pcl, a global hotel and restaurant group based in Thailand, in its acquisition of the Corbin & King group of high-end London restaurants (including The Wolseley and The Delaunay) and The Beaumont Hotel.
- Natra, a portfolio company of CapVest Partners, on its acquisition of Gudrun, a leading Belgian chocolate manufacturer.
- Oak Nation, a subsidiary of the Charlois Group, in the acquisition of Kelvin Cooperage, a Kentucky-based company specializing in the production of high-end bourbon barrels.
- PAI Partners in the following transactions:
- its acquisition of a majority stake in Euro Ethnic Foods (EEF), the company that owns and operates the grocery section of leading food retailer Grand Frais.
- its agreement to acquire La Compagnie des Desserts, a leading premium frozen desserts supplier for the food service market.
- its €1.6 billion investment (alongside British Columbia Investment Management Corp.) in Refresco, the Dutch-listed leading independent bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices.
- its acquisition of Savory Solutions Group, a leading international provider of taste and functional solutions for the food sector.
- its $3.3 billion pending acquisition of Tropicana, Naked and other select juice brands across North America from PepsiCo, Inc.
- Platinum Equity and Butterfly on the financing of their acquisition of Rise Baking Company.
- Seaport Capital in its acquisition of Keg Logistics LLC, a leading outsourced keg and beverage container management provider.
- Second Nature Brands, a portfolio company of CapVest Partners, in its acquisition of Brownie Brittle.
- Second Nature Brands, a portfolio company of CapVest Partners LLP, on its acquisition of Sahale Snacks from The J.M. Smucker Co.
- Second Nature Brands, a portfolio company of CapVest Partners LLP, on its acquisition of the Voortman cookie brand from The J.M. Smucker Co.
- Valeo Foods, a portfolio company of CapVest Partners, in its acquisition of German confectionery manufacturer Schluckwerder.
- Vilmorin & Cie, one of the world’s leading seed companies, in connection with the successful simplified public tender offer from Limagrain.
- Waterland Private Equity and its portfolio company Boncolac in the acquisition of Proper Cornish.
- Meat & Livestock Australia, the trade association for the Australian meat sector, in reporting on and analyzing developments regarding the 2013 U.S. Farm Bill.
- Burger King Corporation in the chapter 11 cases of certain of its franchises.
- Unofficial committees or groups of bondholders or other creditors in the chapter 11 case of theme restaurant Planet Hollywood.
- Restructuring and workout financing involving Shoney’s, a casual dining “comfort food” restaurant chain with hundreds of locations in 18 states.
- Wilmington Trust Co. as indenture trustee for senior secured bondholders and a creditors committee member in the chapter 11 cases of supermarket chain Nutritional Sourcing Corporation.