We advise clients across the entire spectrum of the consumer products industry, including the retail, apparel, food and beverage, consumer electronics, wine and spirits, and luxury sectors. We advise these clients on a diverse range of corporate, transactional and litigation matters.
Our clients include many of the world’s most recognizable and respected brands such as:
- Campbell Soup
- Carrefour
- ConAgra
- CVS Caremark
- H.J. Heinz
- Limited Brands
- LVMH
- PepsiCo
- Prada
- VF
We have advised on some of the industry's most high-profile transactions. View our recent experience in:
Capital Markets
Equity Offerings
- Michael Kors Holdings ($3.8 billion). We advised the joint bookrunners on a $1.1 billion IPO of ordinary shares of Michael Kors Holdings, a global luxury lifestyle brand. We also advised the underwriters on a $1.2 billion and a $1.175 billion SEC-registered offerings of ordinary shares of Michael Kors Holdings.
- Prada ($2.5 billion). We advised Prada, one of the world’s most prestigious fashion and luxury goods groups, on its Rule 144A/Regulation S IPO and Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing of ordinary shares. This was the largest Hong Kong IPO in 2011.
- Arcos Dorados Holdings ($2.4 billion). We advised Arcos Dorados Holdings, the world’s largest McDonald’s franchisee and the largest quick service restaurant chain in Latin America and the Caribbean, on its $1.4 billion SEC-registered IPO of Class A shares. This was the largest IPO by a Latin American issuer in 2011. We also advised Acros Dorados on a $1 billion follow-on offering of common stock.
- PANDORA ($2 billion). We advised PANDORA, a Danish designer, manufacturer, marketer and distributor of hand-finished and modern jewelry, on its Rule 144A/Regulation S IPO of common stock. This is the largest Danish IPO since 1994 and the second-largest IPO in Western Europe this year.
Debt
- PepsiCo ($16 billion). We advised PepsiCo, a leading global food, snack and beverage company, on multiple offerings of senior notes in the aggregate of $16 billion since 2010.
- CVS Caremark ($2.75 billion). We advised CVS Caremark, together with its subsidiaries, the largest pharmacy health care provider in the United States, on a $1.5 billion and a $1.25 billion SEC-registered offerings of senior notes.
- Campbell Soup Company ($1.75 billion). We advised Campbell Soup Company, a global manufacturer and marketer of high-quality, branded convenience food products, on a $1.25 billion SEC-registered offering of notes. We also advised Campbell Soup on a $500 million offering of senior notes.
- H. J. Heinz ($1.6 billion). We advised the underwriters on $300 million SEC-registered offering of notes of H. J. Heinz, both a manufacturer and marketer of an extensive line of food products throughout the world. We also advised H.J. Heinz on multiple offerings of senior notes in the aggregate of $1.3 billion.
- Limited Brands ($1.5 billion). We advised Limited Brands, an international specialty retailer, on two separate $1 billion SEC-registered offerings of high-yield notes. We also advised Limited Brands on a previous $500 million Rule 144A/ Regulation S offering of high-yield senior notes.
- Spectrum Brands ($1.25 billion). We advised the initial purchasers on a $300 million and previous $750 million and $200 million Rule144A/Regulation S offerings of high-yield senior secured notes by Spectrum Brands, a global branded consumer products company, following its emergence from bankruptcy.
- Dufry Finance ($500 million). We advised Dufry Finance SCA, a subsidiary of Dufry AG. Dufry is a leading global travel retailer and it is based in Switzerland, on a Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of debut dollar-denominated high-yield senior notes.
M&A
- Gillette. We advised Gillette on its $57 billion acquisition by Procter & Gamble.
- ConAgra Foods. We have advised ConAgra Foods on its $6.8 billion acquisition of Ralcorp.
- CVS Caremark. We advised CVS Caremark on its:
- $25 billion merger, forming the largest pharmacy services provider in the United States
- $9.6 billion acquisition with SUPERVALU and Cerberus of Albertsons
- $2.9 billion contested acquisition of Longs Drug Stores, a retail drug store
- $2.2 billion acquisition from J.C. Penney of 1,260 Eckerd drugstores and Eckerd’s pharmacy benefit management business
- $1.3 billion acquisition of the Medicare Part D business of Universal American, a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan sponsor
- PepsiCo. We advised PepsiCo on its:
- $13.4 billion acquisition of Quaker Oats
- $7.8 billion going-private acquisition of its two largest anchor bottlers
- $5.8 billion acquisition of a 95% stake in Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods, a Russian branded food and beverage company with a focus on dairy products
- VF. We advised VF, a branded lifestyle apparel company, on its:
- $2 billion acquisition of The Timberland Company
- $586 million acquisition of Nautica
- $396 million acquisition of Vans
- $350 million sale of its intimate apparel unit to Fruit of the Loom
- $161 million acquisition of the Splendid and Ella Moss women's contemporary sportswear brands
- $110 million acquisition of Seven For All Mankind
- Acquisition of Lucy Activewear
- Campbell Soup. We advised the Campbell Soup Company on its:
- $1.6 billion acquisition of Bolthouse Farms
- $850 million sale of Godiva Chocolatier to Yildiz Holding
- Acquisition of Ecce Panis, a producer, distributor and seller of par-baked breads
- H.J. Heinz. We advised H.J. Heinz on its:
- $735 million sale of its Weight Watchers weight-loss classes business
- $165 million acquisition of Foodstar, a Chinese manufacturer of soy sauces
- $100 million investment in The Hain Food Group
- Limited Brands. We advised Limited Brands on its:
- $628 million acquisition of La Senza
- $548 million sale of a majority interest in its Express brand to affiliates of Golden Gate Capital
- $300 million acquisition of Galyan’s Trading Company
- $125 million transfer of a 75% majority interest in its Limited Stores business to affiliates of Sun Capital Partners
- Sale to Sycamore Partners of a controlling 51% interest in Mast Global Fashions