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House Foods acquires plant-based manufacturer
International law firm Baker McKenzie has advised House Foods on its acquisition of a US manufacturer of tofu and other plant-based products.
Emma Musgrave
Firms: Baker McKenzie (House Foods); Undisclosed (Keystone Natural Holdings, LLC)
Value: Undisclosed
Area: Merger and acquisition
Key players: The Baker McKenzie team was led by co-managing partner Akifusa Takada, with the support of counsel Chizu Matsumaru.
Deal significance: The House Foods Group (House Foods) is described as one of Japan’s leading food manufacturers.
It has been operating a tofu business in the United States since 1983.
Keystone is headquartered in Pennsylvania and is a manufacturer and marketer of plant-based products, such as tofu and meat substitutes.
“House Foods currently operates two plants in the US and plans to build a third in Kentucky, which will be operational by 2025, bringing the total number of production facilities in the US and Canada to eight when Keystone’s five facilities are included,” a statement from Baker McKenzie noted.
Commenting further, co-managing partner Akifusa Takada said: “We are very honoured to have been involved in the acquisition of a US company by House Foods, one of Japan’s leading food manufacturers.
“As sustainable practices become increasingly important at both the individual and corporate levels, we believe that this acquisition is an extremely important step in contributing to a sustainable society by strengthening the plant-based food product business, which is attracting attention due to both health concerns and the need to reduce humanity’s environmental impact.
“We are committed to supporting Japanese companies in their global endeavours by leveraging our firm’s top-class cross-border M&A know-how and experience.”
Emma Musgrave
Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.
Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences.
Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University.
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