Romania’s biggest deals of 2016: Food & Beverages

Here are the main deals in the food and beverages sectors that were registered last year. For a forecast regarding the M&A market in 2017, you can read this exclusive article.

FOOD & BEVERAGES

Asahi/AB acquires InBev

Value of transaction: EUR 7.3 billion

Legal team buyer: RTPR Allen & Overy

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Legal team seller: Suciu Popa, Freshfields, Hogan Lovells, EY Romania (financial)

Description: RTPR Allen & Overy advised Japanese group Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. on the acquisition of Ursus Brewery, one of the largest beer producers in Romania, in a transaction in which Asahi acquired five former SABMiller businesses in Central and Eastern Europe. This was the largest M&A transaction in CEE in 2016.

Premier Capital buys McDonald’s Romania

Value of transaction: EUR 65 million

Legal team buyer: Musat si Asociatii, Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP, Tuca, Zbarcea & Asociatii, Deloitte (financial)

Legal team seller: Tuca, Zbarcea & Asociatii

Legal advice to creditor: Clifford Chance Badea

Description: Maltese Premier Capital took over the local operations of American restaurant chain McDonald’s. The deal included 67 restaurants, 19 coffee shops and the company’s whole franchise in Romania.

Orkla takes over Hame

Value of transaction: N/A

Legal team buyer: DLA Piper Romania, Novalia (Czech Republic), Randa Havel Legal (Czech Republic)

Legal team seller: CMS Cameron McKenna Romania

Description: Orkla, a top international FMCG player, took over Hame, a leading branded food company in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with a strong position in Romania, Hungary and Russia. Following the deal, Orkla consolidated its business profile in Central European markets.

Lactalis acquires Albalact

Value of transaction: EUR 75 million

Legal team buyer: Leroy & Asociatii, EY Romania

Legal team seller: Schoenherr

Description: French group Lactalis took over Romanian dairy producer Albalact, which is listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Albalact is the largest company in Romania’s dairy industry, with an annual turnover of more than EUR 100 million. The company has a market capitalization of EUR 50 million.

Lactalis buys Covalact

Value of transaction: N/A

Legal team buyer: Leroy & Asociatii, EY Romania (financial)

Legal team seller: Schoenherr

Description: Investment fund SigmaBleyzer sold dairy producer Covalact to French group Lactalis, one of the largest dairy producers in the world. Covalact has annual sales of around EUR 45 million. The company operates two dairy processing plants in Romania with over 350 employees, and has a local market share of approximately 5 percent. SigmaBleyzer, the investment fund exiting Covalact, manages assets worth some EUR 1 billion, located mostly in Eastern European countries such as Romania and Ukraine.

Food Union takes over Alpin 57 Lux

Value of transaction: EUR 20 million

Legal team buyer: KPMG Advisory (financial)

Legal team seller: N/A

Description: Romanian entrepreneur Ioan Istrate, the founder of Alpin 57 Lux, signed a joint-venture association with Food Union of Latvia, whose portfolio includes dairy and ice cream products. In 2015, the manufacturer had a EUR 20 million turnover while in 2014 it posted a profit of RON 5.5 million.