Eversheds has advised Dairy Crest on the proposed sale of its Dairies operations to Müller UK & Ireland Group for £80m.  Under the terms of the deal, Müller will acquire Dairy Crest's entire Dairies’ operations, including factories at Foston, Derbyshire; Chadwell Heath, Essex, and Severnside, Gloucester as well as 72 depots.

The sale is conditional upon the approval of the relevant competition authorities. This process is expected to take several months, during which time Dairy Crest will focus on continuing to provide high levels of service and delivery throughout the supply chain. It is also conditional on the approval of Dairy Crest’s shareholders and employee consultation.

The Eversheds team was led by Partner Aleen Gulvanessian, assisted by Principal Associate Mark Roe and Associates Olivia Zhardan and Charlotte Evans. Partner Adam Collinson advised on the competition aspects of the deal assisted by Senior Associate Charlie Markillie. Partner Alison Brearey advised on the commercial and distribution arrangements associated with the transaction, assisted by associate Edward Tompkin.

Aleen Gulvanessian commented:

“As a firm, our active consumer sector regularly advises many of the world’s leading food and beverage businesses. Dairy Crest are an extremely important client of ours and it has been a real pleasure to work collaboratively with them on this latest highly strategic deal.”

Robin Miller, Company Secretary & General Counsel at Dairy Crest commented:

“We have worked with Eversheds for a number of years and during that time they have advised and assisted us on some very significant deals for the business. The proposed sale of our dairies operations represents a major strategic deal for us. We are very grateful to the Eversheds team, led by Aleen Gulvanessian, for its expert advice and excellent support throughout this important transaction.”