The firm negotiated the Kirin Holdings Company acquisition of 100 per cent of the shares in National Foods Ltd.

The deal was negotiated in parallel with Lion Nathan’s acquisition from San Miguel of J Boag & Son Pty Ltd, as Kirin is a 46 per cent shareholder in Lion Nathan. Blakes also advised on the structuring, tax and anti-competition issues on that deal.

“This deal … is a major step in Kirin’s strategy of becoming the leading health and beverages company in Australia,” said lead partner on the deal, Ian Williams. “We worked as part of Kirin’s M&A team for over 18 months as its strategic, commercial and legal advisor in developing, structuring and executing the deal.”

Blake Dawson lawyers included Ian Williams, Stephen Menzie, Ben Curtin and Gerard Adams in corporate, Vivian Chang and Alex Evans in tax, Jeff Goldberger from Canberra, and Peter Armitage in competition. A large due diligence team across all offices and practice areas was involved, coordinated by John Mollard, Natsuko Ogawa, Jonathan Ross, Caryn van Proctor and Marion Hemphill in corporate, Melbourne.