Allen & Overy advises Asahi as it nears €2.6bn deal to buy Peroni and Grolsch
Magic circle firm wins mandate to advise the Japanese beer brand on its bid to acquire two of SAB Miller's European beer brands
February 10, 2016 at 11:41 AM
3 minute read
Allen & Overy (A&O) is advising Asahi as it nears a deal to buy SAB Miller's two European beer brands, Italy's Peroni and the Netherlands' Grolsch.
SAB Miller and Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) want to sell Peroni and Grolsch to address regulatory concerns about their planned £71bn merger, announced in November last year, according to sources close to the deal. Freshfields and Linklaters are advising on the main merger deal.
Asahi has offered €2.6bn (£1.9bn) for the brands.
Legal Week understands A&O is acting for the Japanese beer company with a team led by London corporate partner Richard Hough.
The firm's London-based team on the deal also includes employment partner Sarah Henchoz, banking partner Trevor Borthwick, transactions partner Jim Ford, antitrust partner Alasdair Balfour and tax partner Lydia Challen.
They are being supported by Milan M&A partner Paolo Ghiglione, Amsterdam corportate partner Tim Stevens and Tokyo M&A partner Nick Wall.
A&O is also advising the banks that are funding a $75bn (£49bn) loan to AB InBev for its merger with SABMiller.
Freshfields is advising AB InBev on the divestment of Grolsch and Peroni with a team led by City corporate partner Bruce Embley.
Freshfields is also acting for the company on its proposed merger with SAB Miller. However, Embley is not part of the team on this transaction which includes London M&A partner Mark Rawlinson, London head of corporate Simon Marchant and antitrust partner John Davies, who works out of London and Brussels.
Hogan Lovells is taking the lead corporate role for SABMiller in relation to the divestment of the two beer brands with a team led by London corporate partner Andrew Pearson.
The firm is also acting for the company in relation to its merger deal.
Linklaters is acting alongside Hogan Lovells for SAB Miller on the sale of Grolsch and Peroni.
However, it is the lead adviser to the company on the merger deal with a team led by corporate partners Nick Rumsby and Charlie Jacobs. Brussels-based partner Gerwin Van Gerven is advising on competition issues.
It is understood that the auction of the Grolsch and Peroni beer brands is ongoing with no successful buyer yet formally announced.
Other players reported to be in the bidding war for Peroni and Grolsch include US buyout company KKR, Thai Beverage subsidiary Fraser & Neave and European private equity firms PAI Partners and EQT.
Previously, Slaughter and May acted for Asahi when it acquired AB InBev's 20% stake in China's Tsingtao Brewery in 2009.
A&O, Freshfields and Linklaters have been contacted for comment.
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