Advising SunOpta, Inc. on the sale of its Global Ingredients Segment to Amsterdam Commodities N.V. (Euronext: Acomo).
Van Doorne advised SunOpta. Inc, a leading global company focused on plant-based foods and beverages, fruit-based foods and beverages, and organic ingredient sourcing and production listed on NASDAQ, on the sale of its Global Ingredients Segment to Amsterdam Commodities N.V. listed on Euronext Amsterdam.
Important because:
- Divestiture further intensifies SunOpta’s focus on value-added plant-based foods and beverages
- Lowers commodity trading exposure while enhancing long-term growth rate and margins
- Increases financial flexibility to enable accelerated growth in plant-based beverage platform
This transaction further solidifies SunOpta’s future direction as a high-growth, plant-based company focused on providing value-added products in competitively advantaged categories with consistent, sustainable, above average growth characteristics. The long-term supply agreement negotiated as part of this transaction provides SunOpta with the benefit of a continued strategic relationship with a leading global ingredient player in Acomo. Furthermore, this transaction de-levers and strengthens SunOpta’s balance sheet, enabling the acceleration of near-term expansion plans in our fast-growing plant-based food and beverage segment. The plans include both high-return capital investment projects, as well as synergistic acquisitions, that add to an existing set of strong capabilities in our core plant-based beverage platform. Under the terms of the agreement, SunOpta will sell processing facilities located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Silistra, Bulgaria; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Yirgalem, Ethiopia. These facilities and their employees will continue to operate in ordinary course. Approximately 525 employees will be transferred from SunOpta to Acomo.
The Van Doorne team was led by Jeroen Sombezki. “We are very pleased to have advised SunOpta, Inc. on strategically transformational carve-out transaction. These are exciting times for SunOpta and we are very proud that we were able to advise them on all relevant legal aspects in an integrated and multi-disciplinary fashion thereby contributing to SunOpta’s future direction.”
Other involved parners, counsels
Meltem Koning, Sarah Beeston, Stefan van Rossum, Jan Roeland, Daan ter Braak, Marjolijn Lips, Lisette Bieleveld, Elisabeth Thole, Bart van Reeken, Cees Kniestedt.
Link to press release and here.