Savola Group | Commercial due diligence on $150m acquisition

The problem

The client was considering the acquisition of a majority stake in a frozen food company (the target) with operations and strong market presence in 5 GCC Countries; and asked Farrelly Mitchell to support it during the transaction process.

The target had a reach of some 10,000 outlets – mainly in the grocery retail sector; with frozen product range including meat, seafood, snacks, ready meals, fruit and vegetables and serviced its GCC markets through three processing facilities located in the KSA and UAE.

In addition, the target had an extensive distribution system that includes ten sales centres and cold storage facilities.

The solution

Farrelly Mitchell completed a detailed commercial and technical due diligence report of the target, including processing facilities, sales centres and cold storage facilities located in KSA and UAE.

We then assisted the company in a number of activities and capacities during the transaction process from the commencement of the due diligence / deal exclusivity period to the close of the transaction.

We used our sector and wider food M&A buy-side experience in the Saudi and GCC market to guide and support the company throughout the transaction process. These work areas included negotiation support in relation to the binding offer and definitive agreements, and overall transaction support.

It fully comprised assisting in developing the negotiation strategy and tactics, reviewing the binding offer and other agreements, from a commercial and financial standpoint, and providing feedback on the same.

It also entailed providing advice on post-closing matters, including reviewing and providing feedback on post-closing adjustments, overseeing the management of the overall transaction, assisting with the valuation of the target including identifying potential synergies and conducting contribution analysis, and assisting the client team in preparing material for meetings with the Board of Directors.

The results

The client used our commercial and technical/operation due diligence (TODD) red flag report, buy-side services and value creation plan to go forward and successfully complete the investment.