Taylor Wessing advises Blueheath on £400m reverse takeover
Taylor Wessing is advising AIM-quoted Blueheath Holdings PLC on its acquisition of Booker, the UK’s largest cash and carry chain, to create one of the UK's leading food wholesalers with annual sales of more than £3 billion.
The consideration will be in the form of new Blueheath ordinary shares, valuing the combined group at over £400m. The transaction, which was announced yesterday and is due to complete on 4 June 2007, comprised a reverse takeover for AIM purposes and required a waiver of Rule 9 of the Takeover Code.
The Taylor Wessing team advising Blueheath comprised corporate partners Tim Stocks, Tim Oldridge, and Ann Casey, supported by Dominic Peacock, Guy Morgan, Leigh Lisk and Chris Komodromou (all Corporate), Michael Porter (Pensions), Emily McGee (Banking), Cosima Lamb (Real Estate), Laura Livingstone (Employment) and Kate McGovern (Intellectual Property).
Tim Oldridge comments:
"We are delighted to be advising Blueheath on this transaction, representing as it does a very significant stage in the development of both Blueheath and Booker.”
Allen & Overy acted for Booker and its shareholders, and Simmons & Simmons acted for Investec Investment Banking, Blueheath’s nominated adviser.
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For more information please contact Sheena Lee at Taylor Wessing:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7300 4930
Email: s.lee@taylorwessing.com
Taylor Wessing LLP is a leading law firm providing legal support for commercial organisations doing business in Europe. Based in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK, Taylor Wessing provides the full range of legal services to major corporations and growing enterprises. Taylor Wessing boasts a strong reputation in the corporate, finance and real estate sectors alongside in-depth experience across the full range of legal services including intellectual property and technology, tax, litigation & dispute resolution, employment & pensions and private client.
Blueheath Holdings Plc is a wholesaler of groceries to convenience stores in the £16.6 billion UK grocery wholesale sector. The Group sells and arranges the distribution of approximately 3,500, primarily ambient, product lines to over 5,000 independent and multiple retail and leisure outlets within the UK. Blueheath’s innovative technology-driven business model is founded on the basic principles of stripping out unnecessary supply chain costs and overheads and passing on financial and operational benefits to customers. This enables Blueheath to offer customers a wholesale delivery service of groceries at close to Cash & Carry prices.
