On May 30, 2017, Toni Hilti Familien-Treuhänderschaft (THF) and Bell Food Group AG (Bell) announced that they signed an agreement regarding the sale and purchase of the 49% interest in Hilcona Aktiengesellschaft, Schaan, Liechtenstein (Hilcona) held by THF. With the execution of the sale Hilcona will become a 100% subsidiary of Bell.

Hilcona is the market leader for fresh convenience foods in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Founded by Toni Hilti in 1935 as a tinned food factory in Liechtenstein, the Hilcona Group today comprises a number of factories and several distribution sites. In 2016, the Hilcona Group generated annual sales of more than CHF 500 m and today, employs more than 2'000 employees.

THF and Bell have agreed to execute the transaction retroactively as per January 2017, subject to approval of the relevant competition authorities. The parties have agreed to keep the details of the transaction confidential.

Homburger advised THF in this transaction. The Homburger team was led by partner Daniel Daeniker (Corporate | M&A) and included partner Stefan Oesterhelt (Tax), associates Nina Hagmann (Corporate | M&A) and Richard Stäuber (Competition | Regulatory).