Norton Rose advise Müller in £279.5million Robert Wiseman acquisition
16 January 2012
International legal practice Norton Rose LLP has today announced that it is advising Müller Dairy (UK) Limited on its £279.5 million public takeover for LSE listed Robert Wiseman Dairies PLC.
The recommended cash offer was announced on 16 January 2011. The offer values Wiseman's share capital at approximately £279.5 million. The cash offer of 390 pence for each Wiseman share represents a premium of approximately 60 per cent.
Müller Dairy (UK) Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller S.e.c.s., a Luxembourg incorporated company owned by Theo Müller. It is a leading European dairy company with an annual turnover of approximately €2.2bn. The group has had an established presence in the UK since 1987, and is the UK’s overall market leader in chilled yoghurts and potted desserts.
East Kilbride based Robert Wiseman Dairies PLC was started by the Wiseman family in 1944, and now supplies 30 per cent of the fresh milk consumed in Britain every day.
The Norton Rose LLP team is being led by corporate partners Julian Stanier and Paul Whitelock, with assistance from Christopher McCarthy (associate). Mark Jones (partner) and Caroline Thomas (senior associate) are providing anti-trust advice, Tomas Gärdfors (partner) and Carl Werner (senior associate) are advising on financing, and Monique Fry (partner) and Liron Cohen (associate) are advising on employee incentives.
N M Rothschild is acting as financial adviser to the Müller group.
For further information please contact:
Gavin Collins, PR manager, Norton Rose LLP
Tel: +44 (0)20 7444 2466; Mob: +44 (0)7770 650 113
gavin.collins@nortonrose.com
Notes for editors:
Norton Rose LLP is a member of Norton Rose Group, a leading international legal practice offering a full business law service to many of the world’s pre-eminent financial institutions and corporations from offices in Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Central Asia. Knowing how our clients’ businesses work and understanding what drives their industries is fundamental to us. Our lawyers share industry knowledge and sector expertise across borders, enabling us to support our clients anywhere in the world. We are strong in financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and pharmaceuticals and life sciences.
We have more than 2900 lawyers operating from 43 offices in Abu Dhabi, Almaty, Amsterdam, Athens, Bahrain, Bangkok, Beijing, Bogotá, Brisbane, Brussels, Calgary, Canberra, Cape Town, Caracas, Casablanca, Dubai, Durban, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Melbourne, Milan, Montréal, Moscow, Munich, Ottawa, Paris, Perth, Piraeus, Prague, Québec, Rome, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto and Warsaw; and from associate offices in Dar es Salaam, Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta.
Norton Rose Group comprises Norton Rose LLP, Norton Rose Australia, Norton Rose Canada LLP, Norton Rose South Africa (incorporated as Deneys Reitz Inc), and their respective affiliates.