Piper Alderman is advising Driscoll’s Inc., along with international firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, in relation to the recently announced consortium acquisition of Costa Group Holdings Limited (“Costa”) by way of scheme of arrangement.
The acquisition consortium is led by Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC (“PSP”) and comprises entities controlled by PSP, Driscoll’s Inc and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation. The transaction requires Court, Costa shareholder and certain regulatory approvals. Subject to the approvals, the implementation of the Scheme is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2024. The all-cash consideration values Costa’s equity at $1.496 billion, and with an enterprise value of $2.459 billion.
The Piper Alderman team is led by cross-border securities law specialist Mark Williamson, supported by a team of experts across the Australian offices of the firm including Sina Kassra, Sam Blight, Samiha Asim and Francesca Lombardo.
Driscoll’s is the world’s largest berry company based in California and a major global supplier of fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. The Driscoll’s name was brought to Australia in 2010 when a partnership was formed between Costa and Driscoll’s Strawberry Associates, Inc (US).
Commenting on the deal, Partner, Mark Williamson said:
“Driscoll’s is known by Australian households because of the Driscoll’s branded berries on our market shelves. We are delighted to have assisted such an iconic brand and valued client with this important transaction.”
Costa is Australia’s leading grower, packer and marketer of fresh fruit and vegetables and operates principally in five core categories: berries, mushrooms, glasshouse tomatoes, citrus and avocados. Costa also has strategic foreign interests, with majority owned joint ventures covering six blueberry farms in Morocco and four berry farms in China.
