Walker Morris advises Calbee UK on its acquisition of Seabrook Crisps
3rd October 2018
Specialist lawyers from the Food & Drink Team at Walker Morris have advised Calbee UK, part of a leading global snack company, Calbee Inc., on its acquisition of Seabrook Crisps, the iconic crisp brand, for an undisclosed sum.
Combining the strong ambition of Calbee UK, which boldly strives to disrupt the UK snacking category through exciting innovation, with the strong history and tradition of the iconic Seabrook brand, is a powerful move to leverage their combined strengths and therefore accelerate the growth and market penetration of both businesses.
Calbee UK has acquired Seabrook in order to create a coalition for growth. This combination brings together two companies with great individual brands and identity and creates a strong alliance, which will provide mutual benefit and long-term success for both companies and their colleagues.
Richard Naish led the Walker Morris Team supported by Thomas Mieszkowski, Mark Scholes (Corporate) and Kendel Shepherd (Employment).
Richard Robinson, Managing Director of Calbee UK said:
“We are hugely excited by the obvious fit that Seabrook represents for us in bringing the mainstream snack of potato-based crisps into our product portfolio.”
“Bringing together Calbee UK, which boldly strives to disrupt the UK snacking category through exciting innovation, with the strength of the iconic, dynamic, challenger Seabrook brand, is a powerful move to leverage our combined strengths, accelerate our growth and increase our market penetration.”
Robinson added, “Seabrook is a company with a great history, tradition and numerous first to market initiatives and serves as a perfect complement to the ambitious, young business that is Calbee UK. We are firm believers in the power of iconic, local hero brands, and we aim to leverage these strengths for further expansion. This strong alliance will provide mutual benefit and long-term success for both companies and their colleagues.”
Richard Naish, added:
“As a long-standing client of the Firm, we are delighted to advise Calbee UK on this transaction, being the first in the UK. The acquisition represents a great fit for both Calbee UK and Seabrook and will provide a solid platform for future growth.”
“This transaction further reinforces Walker Morris’ ability to draw on a multi-disciplinary team of lawyers with a wide range of expertise and knowledge to provide specialist legal advice to our clients in the food and drink industry.”
The deal reaffirms Walker Morris’ national reputation within the food and drink industry and is the latest in a number of successful transactions in the sector during 2018, including advising (i) Karro Food Group on its acquisition of TS Bloor & Sons; (ii) Real Good Food on the sale of Haydens Bakery to Bakkavor and on the sale of Garrett Ingredients to Kent Foods; and (iii) advising the shareholders of 3V Group (owner of the Meridian nut butters brand) on the sale of a majority shareholding to SHS Group.
