FOOD, BEVERAGE & AGRICULTURE

Nixon Peabody’s leading Food, Beverage, and Agriculture team has a national, cross-disciplinary platform. We advise clients across all segments of the industry—from farm to factory to consumer. We offer a wide range of services, including:

We have a deep team focused on clients across all segments of the industry—from manufacturers of branded goods to agribusinesses to retail chains to sources of capital. Our team has been involved in some of the largest and most complex matters in the industry over the past decade, including:

• Represented a major secured creditor in the reorganization and sale of SUPERVALU’s Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, and Star Market stores to an investor group led by Cerberus Capital Management LP.
• Represented Apollo Food Group LLC, producer of Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt, in its debt and equity financing as the company expands its product distribution. Launching in 2011 as the first-ever line of Frozen Greek Yogurt Bars and Smoothies, Yasso has quickly become one of the fastest-growing brands in the frozen novelty category with current distribution at 12,000 retail locations nationwide.
• Advised Constellation Brands in a revised agreement with Anheuser-Busch InBev that makes Crown Imports a fully owned entity of Constellation through a complete divestiture of Grupo Modelo’s U.S. business. The transaction has been called “a game changer” by the media and is one of the largest M&A deals of 2013.
• Advising Felda Global Ventures, one of the largest palm oil producers in the world, on North American issues relating to its IPO on the Malaysian stock exchange – the second largest IPO in the world in 2012, after Facebook.
• Representing Vermont Hard Cider Company, maker of Woodchuck Hard Cider, on its sale to C&C Group, an Irish public company that owns a portfolio of beverage brands like Magners and Hornsby’s.
• Counseling Kozy Shack, a 40-year, family-owned manufacturer of premium dessert products, through its sale to a strategic player in the food industry.

Food and beverage industry players from around the world rely on Nixon Peabody for comprehensive, practical advice on a broad spectrum of legal issues.