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Hogan Lovells Advises on Sweep of Deals for SABMiller
LONDON, 2 February 2012 - Hogan Lovells has advised long-standing client SABMiller on several key transactions in recent months, including a strategic alliance with the Anadolu Group and Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş. (Anadolu Efes) in a transaction valued at approximately US$1.9bn. The transaction was first announced in October 2011, and definitive agreements were signed on 24 January 2012.
Anadolu Efes operates in Turkey, Russia, the CIS, Central Asia and the Middle East, and the alliance will result in Anadolu Efes having the number 2 market position in the large Russian beer market, and leading market positions in Turkey, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Georgia, while SABMiller will take a 24% equity interest in the enlarged Anadolu Efes group.
The largest transaction of 2011 was SABMiller’s AU$11.5 billion (£7.8 billion) acquisition of the Australian brewer, Foster's Group Limited, which completed in December. Hogan Lovells advised on the non-Australian aspects of the bid including structuring and acquisition finance.
Hogan Lovells subsequently advised SABMiller on a US$7 billion bond financing in January 2012, the largest corporate bond offering in the U.S. market in the past two years, with the proceeds used to repay a substantial part of the Foster’s acquisition finance, only one month after completion of the transaction.
Commenting on these transactions, London corporate finance partner Maegen Morrison said:
"We are pleased to have assisted SABMiller in completing these important strategic transactions in recent months. SABMiller has a proven track record of developing strong and effective partnerships, and in integrating brewing companies and improving their operating and financial performance, and these transactions are very much in line with the group’s strategy to create an attractive global spread of businesses, with a focus on developing strong and successful brand portfolios."
The Hogan Lovells team advising SABMiller on the Anadolu Efes transaction was led by London corporate finance partner Maegen Morrison, assisted by partner Andrew Pearson, senior associate Matthew Williams and associates Fiona Carlyle and Hazel Peck; tax partner Karen Hughes and associate Natalie Psaila; and competition partner Lesley Ainsworth and associate Paul Castlo.
Maegen Morrison and Andrew Pearson also led on the Foster's transaction with banking partner Penny Angell and senior associate Caroline Mortimer leading the acquisition finance team, and Of Counsel Karla Dudek, associate Victoria Ellison and trainee Laura Harild working on the structuring.
U.S. capital markets partner Peter Kohl led on the bond financing, supported by associates Meta Hanlon and Laura Kilian, debt capital markets partners Andrew Carey and Robert Ripin, and U.S. corporate partner Henry Kahn.
The Hogan Lovells team worked closely throughout with SABMiller’s in-house M&A legal team, led by Stephen Jones, Deputy General Counsel – M&A, supported by Peter Coveney, Senior Corporate Counsel, Rob Bennett and Mona He, Corporate Counsel, Jonathan Gay and Michael Clifford, Treasury Counsel, and directed by John Davidson, General Counsel and Group Secretary.
ENDS
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