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Three firms act on drinks deal
Ashurst, Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Barraket Stanton Lawyers have acted on a $47 million joint venture that will see Coca Cola Amatil re-enter the Australian premium beer market.
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Corrs Chambers Westgarth (NAB)
Deal: Establishment of a Beer Joint Venture between Coca Cola Amatil Limited and Casella Wines Pty Ltd
Area: Corporate
Value: Initial investment, by issue of convertible notes, by Australian Beer Company Pty Ltd to Coca Cola Amatil Limited of $24 million, with further funding obligation of up to $23 million
Key players: Murray Wheater (pictured) was the lead Ashurst partner. He was assisted by Barbara Phair, Vivian Chang, Tim Sackar, Graeme Tucker, Cameron Thomson and Andrew Deane.
Deal significance: Australian Beer Company Pty Ltd, an SPV initially 100 per cent owned by Casella Wines Pty Ltd then to be owned 50 per cent by Casella Wines Pty Ltd and 50 per cent by Coca Cola Amatil Limited upon conversion of convertible notes. This loan is a preparatory step towards CCA’s re-entry into the Australian premium beer market and will be used by the Australian Beer Company to assist with the acquisition and expansion of a state-of-the-art brewery in Griffith, NSW into a 500,000 hectolitre annual capacity brewery. The resulting joint venture will then be responsible for manufacturing premium beer and developing brands, whilst CCA will be solely responsible for the sales, distribution and development and management of the customer relationships.
