WBD has advised on the sale of Prestat, the UK chocolatier considered to be an inspiration for Roald Dahl’s story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, to Italian coffee and chocolate dynasty Gruppo Illy.
Prestat will source single-origin chocolate made by Gruppo Illy’s chocolate manufacturing subsidiary Domori with shared sales networks resulting in improved global distribution.
WBD acted for the shareholders of the Prestat Group, with the firm drawing on its substantial experience of advising on M&A transactions in the retail and consumer sector. The team was led by corporate partner Leon Miller, corporate solicitor Arturas Jakubovskis, tax managing associate Ronan Lowney and employment associate Heather Stickland.
The team also worked closely with other advisers acting for Prestat including Italian law firm Grimaldi Studio Legale and financial advisers Zeus Capital.
Leon Miller of WBD commented:
"We're delighted to have advised Prestat Group on this high profile transaction. Our understanding of the retail and consumer sector as well as our strong ability to provide multidisciplinary legal advice, meant we were able to provide the best possible outcome for the client."
Ranking in the UK's top 20 law firms, WBD provides legal expertise in eleven key sectors from across eight offices in the UK, including London and 19 offices in the US. The firm has a large corporate practice in the UK advising national and international clients on a broad range of corporate transactions, particularly M&As, IPOs, private equity investments, growth and development capital, and public company fundraisings.