The Firm represented KKR in connection with its acquisition of Unilever’s global Spreads business for €6.825 billion (US$8.02 billion). The transaction closed on July 2, 2018.
Unilever's Spreads business includes brands such as Becel, Flora, Country Crock, Blue Band, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Rama and ProActiv. It is a global leader in plant-based nutrition, with leading market shares in both developed and emerging markets and an unparalleled portfolio of household brands in the butter, margarine and cream segments. It is over four times larger than its next largest global branded competitor in the butter and margarine market, and is present in 69 countries.
The Simpson Thacher team included Clare Gaskell, Charles Leeming, Laura Kichenside, Chris Vallance, Emily Cornhill, Harris Kaufman and Charlotte Yeldon (M&A); Kate Sinclair, Ambarish Dash and Jason Lim (Credit); Nick Shaw, Gil Strauss, Noam Katz, Donovan Westbrook and Alice Prinsley (Capital Markets); Joyce Xu and Lily Chen (Derivatives); David Vann and Preston Miller (Antitrust); and Meredith Jones and Bill Smolinski (Tax).