Which Lawyers Got the Cream in the Massive NZ Deal

The sale of Fonterra’s global consumer and associated businesses, the Mainland Group, to French dairy giant Lactalis for a reported $4.2 billion was never going to be just a farmer-to-farmer handshake. It turned into one of the most lucrative ticket-clipping exercises for New Zealand and Australian lawyers in recent memory.

 Fonterra’s chief executive, Miles Hurrell first signalled the deal about 15 months’ ago but it took a group of lawyers, bankers and accountants to complete the deal in recent weeks.

The dealis one of the largest in New Zealand corporate history and involves the sale of such household brands like Anchor, Bega, Mainland and Western Star as well as Fonterra operations in Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

The sale of the brands means Lactalis will be the largest dairy company in Australia with Fonterra continuing to supply raw milk, dairy ingredients and products to the divested businesses under long-term supply agreements.

On Fonterra’s side, Russell McVeagh ran point in New Zealand, with partners David Hoare, Ben Paterson (pictured) and Hannah Wilson leading a deep bench of corporate, competition and regulatory specialists.

Across the Tasman, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer handled the Australian work, fronted by Nick Baker, Tim McEwen, Linda Evans and Merryn Quayle, steering Fonterra through regulatory approvals, M&A structuring and a parallel litigation skirmish with Bega Cheese. PwC New Zealand supported with accounting and transaction advisory, led by Ian McLoughlin.

For Lactalis, Allens in Australia provided lead advice, with Tom Story (pictured) and Adrian Amer at the helm, while in New Zealand Bell Gully partners James Gibson and Alex Bond acted as buyer’s counsel.

The bankers and financial advisers also piled in too with Jarden, Craigs Investment Partners, JP Morgan, Rothschild & Co and Deloitte among them, making the deal one of the year’s fattest fee feasts.