MinterEllison has advised The Kraft Heinz Company on its recently announced acquisition of Cerebos Pacific Ltd’s food and instant coffee business, including iconic brands such as Gravox, SAXA, Fountain and Foster Clark’s.

Cerebos Pacific is a Singaporean subsidiary of Japan’s Suntory Beverage & Food.

Under the agreement, The Kraft Heinz Company, via wholly-owned subsidiaries, will acquire Cerebos’s subsidiary entities in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore for approximately $290 million. Cerebos will retain its fresh coffee business in Australia and New Zealand which added to the complexity of the transaction. The transaction remains subject to Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and other regulatory approvals.

The MinterEllison team stated that, “It has been a pleasure to assist Kraft Heinz as a long-standing client of the firm to add an exciting portfolio of complementary brands to its existing offering”.

The MinterEllison corporate team was led by Ben Liu (Partner) and Kate Koidl (Senior Associate) in Melbourne and Neil Miller (Partner, MinterEllisonRuddWatts) in New Zealand with support from tax partner, Elissa Romanin. Geoff Carter (Partner), Dr. Ross Patterson (Partner, MinterEllisonRuddWatts), David Moore (Partner) and Mellissa Lai (Senior Associate) led the regulatory teams.