A&O and Weil Gotshal take the United Biscuits auction
Billion-pound food auction attracts advisers as NY duo lands Hanson bond mandate
August 30, 2006 at 08:03 PM
2 minute read
Allen & Overy (A&O) and Weil Gotshal & Manges have secured major roles in the billion-pound auction of United Biscuits, which is expected to attract a number of high-profile bidders.
A&O is advising long-term client United Biscuits, fielding a team under corporate partner David Wootton, in the second instruction the company has given the firm since the £575m disposal of its southern European business to Kraft Foods earlier this summer.
London managing partner Mike Francies (pictured) is leading Weil Gotshal's team for Premier Foods, which is heading a consortium that includes buy-out house Lion Capital and Dutch private equity group NPM Capital.
Weil Gotshal's instruction by Premier is the latest in a string of deals the US firm has advised the food company on. Earlier this summer Francies and corporate partner Ian Hamilton advised on its £460m acquisition of Campbell Soup's UK and Irish businesses while last year it advised on the £80m sale of Typhoo Tea.
Premier is one of two front-runners in the auction for United Biscuits, the maker of McVitie's biscuits, KP Nuts and Hula Hoops, with US buy-out giant Blackstone leading another consortium.
The auction is expected to close in a matter of days. It is under-stood that Clifford Chance, which has been building its links with Blackstone in recent years, was initially approached to advise the US house, but was conflicted because of its role advising Kraft on the earlier United Biscuits disposal.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was cited as a leading contender to advise Blackstone, although the US firm was unable to comment as Legal Week went to press.
The United Biscuits auction comes as Simpson Thacher and Weil Gotshal this month took lead roles on a separate $750m (£397m) financing by UK plc Hanson. The deal saw Weil Gotshal London-based capital markets partners Michael Brady and Jeremy Dickens advise Hanson on a US-registered $750m (£396m) bond, with partner James Cole handling UK issues. Simpson Thacher finance heavyweight Walt Looney advised underwriters JP Morgan and Bank of America.
Looney told Legal Week: "This listing was done under the new [US listing] rules, which simplified the listing by eliminating Securities and Exchange Commission review for large companies with a strong trading history such as Hanson."
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllClifford Chance and Linklaters lead the way on gas network deal
Freshfields, A&O and Slaughters lawyers register in Ireland as Brexit fears mount
A&O launches JV with Deloitte to help banks tackle regulation
White & Case set for key role as $2.5trn Saudi Aramco prepares to float
Trending Stories
- 1New York-Based Skadden Team Joins White & Case Group in Mexico City for Citigroup Demerger
- 2No Two Wildfires Alike: Lawyers Take Different Legal Strategies in California
- 3Poop-Themed Dog Toy OK as Parody, but Still Tarnished Jack Daniel’s Brand, Court Says
- 4Meet the New President of NY's Association of Trial Court Jurists
- 5Lawyers' Phones Are Ringing: What Should Employers Do If ICE Raids Their Business?
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
