 | CAT Alliance was pleased to assist VION N.V. with their second corporate portfolio acquisition in the UK of the established UK and Thailand business.
Flip Kips, Project Director at CAT Alliance led the environmental due diligence with support from Gary Grantham and James Livingstone.
The deal was particularly interesting to CAT Alliance in view of the large number of sites involved in the transaction process and the approach to understanding the risks involved. CAT Alliance provided a broader scope of support to VION than core environmental due diligence which comprised identifying and quantifying risks associated with health and safety, fire safety and deleterious materials.
CAT Alliance was able to provide input to the critical areas of regulatory permitting and fire safety for, in particular, the regulated processing facilities. In addition, we were also able to demonstrate our international reach and understanding of different legal jurisdictions for facilities in Thailand.
Of key importance to the purchaser was providing comfort that all potential environmental liabilities associated with the business had been identified and appropriately provided for. Richard van Lijssel, of VION N.V. said “professional approach throughout the project….excellent response to out-of-scope developments and queries in the project….pleasant co-operation with the CAT Team.”
CAT Alliance worked closely with other key parties to the deal that included Rabobank, Netherlands and Mayer Brown, UK.
| Not disclosed |
 | Pre-acquisition environmental, health safety and planning due diligence in connection with the share purchase of the La Fornaia bakery, a leading producer of a wider range of premium quality and hand crafted breads by Maple Leaf Foods, a leading manufacturer and distributor of fresh, frozen and par-baked bread, rolls and bagels. | GBP18.75m |
 | Phase I and II pre-acquisition audits in UK, France, Spain, Germany, Slovakia and India in connection with the acquisition of certain assets of the Lombardini Group, a world leader among diesel engine producers up to 50 kW on behalf of the worldwide leader in plumbing products. | Not disclosed |
 | Phase I and II pre-acquisition due diligence in connection with the purchase of Teesside based M F Sealing Systems Ltd on behalf of a leading manufacturer and supplier of pumps, valves, and seals to petroleum, chemical, power, water, and general industry | Not disclosed |
 | Vendor led EDD assignments comprising 36 industrial assets in Europe and in the U.S.A. Icopal was acquired by Investcorp. | EUR 850m |
 | Pre-acquisition due diligence in connection with the purchase of Kate’s Cakes one of the most renowned and innovative hand crafted cake companies in the industry supplying a wide range of products into the leading coffee shop houses and some of the best known retailers including Pret a Manger, Starbucks, M&S and Waitrose on behalf of CSM, an internationally operating company engaged in the development, production, sale and distribution of bakery supplies and food ingredients. | £20.5m |
 | Vendor-led due diligence in connection with the share acquisition by Winnie Papir A/S of Eurowrap Limited, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of innovative, design-led gift wrap, gift bags and general gift stationery. | Not disclosed |
