Freehills is advising Goodman Fielder on the $240 million sale of its commercial fats and oils business announced today. The transaction is subject to conditions, including ACCC approval. Cargill is the purchaser of the business.
The transaction is a key step of Goodman Fielder’s strategy of focussing on consumer brands going forward. The transaction is structured as a sale of assets, including refining facilities around Australia.
The Freehills team is led by partners Rebecca Maslen-Stannage and Nicola Yeomans. Bell Gully acted for Goodman Fielder in New Zealand.
Freehills partner Rebecca Maslen-Stannage said, ‘The complexity in the sale arose from the fact that there will be an ongoing relationship between the business being sold and Goodman Fielder, with the purchaser supplying products back to Goodman Fielder. Goodman Fielder and Cargill will share sites and facilities which relate to both the Commercial business and Goodman Fielder’s consumer brands business. To structure that properly requires the experience of specialists across a broad range of legal disciplines.
‘We were able to draw on Freehills’ depth across states to provide that specialist input. We are delighted to assist with a deal that furthers Goodman Fielder’s strategic focus on its consumer brands portfolio.’
Maslen-Stannage and Yeomans at Freehills were supported by senior associates Anna Southworth, Alicia Albury, Kylie Rohl, Peter Strickland (working with competition partner Paul Hughes) and special counsel Harshane Kahagalle. The sale involved input from teams specialising across a variety of practice areas including property, environmental, intellectual property, IT and competition.
Jonathon West, Goodman Fielder’s General Counsel, led the legal teams across Australia and New Zealand.
Freehills advice on these transactions illustrates the strength, flexibility and diversity of Freehills’ M&A capabilities. Freehills continues to be the market’s choice in M&A. It was again ranked as No.1 in all categories in the Thomson-Reuters and Bloomberg M&A League Tables for Australia/New Zealand for the 2008 calendar year.
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