Independent Liquor – Sale to PEP and CCMP

In close conjunction with our Auckland office, we advised the owners of the Independent Liquor group of companies in the competitive auction sale of its leading trans-Tasman ‘ready to drink’ alcoholic beverage manufacturing and distribution business. The company had operations at the commencement of our engagement in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

This deal was one of the largest deals in New Zealand in 2006 and one of the world’s largest liquor industry transactions in 2006.

We assisted the vendors in all aspects of the sale process including vendor due diligence, protocols, sale documentation preparation and negotiation, populating and maintaining an electronic data room and managing bidder enquiries. Short listed bidders included a combination of trade and private equity buyers. The transaction involved mergers and acquisitions law, corporate and commercial law, banking and finance, environmental law, employment law, property law and taxation law.