Slaughter and May and Pinsents take roles for Asda on purchase

Walker Morris has taken a lead role on the £778m sale of Netto Foodstores to Asda.

The Leeds-based firm advised Danish retail group Dansk Supermarked, a long-term client, on the sell-off of its Netto subsidiary to Asda, which is owned by US giant Walmart.

Corporate partner Ian Gilbert and property partner Andrew Moodie led the Walker Morris team on the deal, which was signed at the end of last month (27 May) and is now awaiting regulatory approval.

Walker Morris has advised Netto since it first entered the UK market in 1990. The supermarket chain, founded in Denmark in 1981, has a total of 194 UK stores, which are now set to trade under the Asda brand by the middle of 2011.

Gilbert commented: "We have a close relationship with Netto, and it is very pleasing that we have been able to assist them on this exit, which is demonstrably a good deal for both Netto and Asda."

Slaughter and May took the lead role for Asda on the acquisition, with partner Kathy Hughes heading up the magic circle law firm's team advising on corporate and competition issues.

The appointment comes after Asda overhauled its legal panel at the end of last year, shrinking it from 16 firms to just three, with McGrigors, Pinsent Masons and Ward Hadaway appointed to carry out the supermarket's general corporate and commercial work.

Pinsents took a role on the Netto deal, which saw the firm carry out the due diligence, commercial contracts and employment work, with property partner Tom Johnson leading the team.

Gilbert added: "This was a complex, high-value, high-profile transaction with sizeable competition and property aspects, but one which went through relatively smoothly against a challenging timetable."