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Mitolo Group expands with Thomas Foods acquisition
DMAW Lawyers has advised on the acquisition of Thomas Foods International’s potato business.
Tony Zhang
Firms: DMAW Lawyers (Mitolo Group)
Value: Undisclosed
Area: Agribusiness.
Key players: Seva Surmei, Peter Kupniewski and Paul Dugan, all principals of DMAW Lawyers, led the legal team working on the acquisition.
Deal significance: Mitolo Group managing director Frank Mitolo first approached TFI chief executive Darren Thomas several months ago about acquiring the potato business.
For Mitolo, the acquisition represents an opportunity to increase capacity and business continuity for packing and grading fresh produce in the Virginia region and to futureproof the business through additional farming and water assets.
DMAW Lawyers worked closely with Mitolo on the acquisition and obtaining ACCC clearance, drawing on expertise in commercial law, M&A and the agribusiness sector, including horticulture code and competition and consumer law compliance.
The ACCC recently announced that it did not oppose the acquisition and completion has occurred.
“DMAW Lawyers has been a trusted adviser to Mitolo Group over many years,” Mr Mitolo said.
“The team has strong skill sets across key areas of law including competition, industrial and commercial.
“In addition to this recent acquisition, DMAW supported Mitolo to achieve a successful outcome in the Horticulture Award review in 2018. This was a landmark piece of work to include off-farm workers within the award that benefitted the entire horticulture industry.”
“DMAW Lawyers is pleased to support the Mitolo Group as they continue their expansion plans,” DMAW Lawyers principal and agribusiness industry leader, Ms Surmei said.
“This acquisition facilitates the growth of a long-standing client, aligned with our purpose to enable South Australian businesses to thrive.
“We value our relationship with Mitolo, which has been forged over a number of years along with an understanding of their business beyond legal requirements.
“This creates meaningful work for our team while further strengthening our expertise in the agribusiness sector.”
The Mitolo Group is a leading integrated potato and onion growing and packing company. Founded in 1972 and based in South Australia, the group has sites located across the Riverland, Mallee and Adelaide Plains.
Thomas Foods International is Australia’s largest 100 per cent family-owned meat processing company. TFI exports across the globe with subsidiary companies located in Asia, Europe and the US.
