Deal: Hardwicks Meats has been sold to Kilcoy Global Foods.

Value: Confidential.

Area: M&A.

Key players: The Clarendon Lawyers legal team was led by managing director Tony Symons, who was assisted by associate Stephen Dyason.

Deal significance: Hardwicks Meats is a family-owned premium beef and lamb processor established in 1973.

The business is based in Kyneton in Victoria’s central highlands district, employs over 400 staff and services customers across Victoria, South Australia, NSW and Queensland. The business also holds a Tier One export licence and has been exporting its products for almost two decades.

Meanwhile, KGF is a $1.5 billion nature-to-plate food solutions company that supplies its products to food service and retail customers through operations in Australia, the US and China.

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The group plans to retain Hardwicks’ workforce and the company’s two joint managing directors, Luke and James Hardwick, will continue for a transitional period to ensure a smooth transition for the business.

The transaction, which was approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board, completed on 1 July 2021.

“It was a pleasure to advise the Hardwick family on such a significant transaction for them, the employees and the local economy,” said Clarendon Lawyers managing director Mr Symons.

“It is deeply satisfying to see business founders like the Hardwick family reap the rewards of decades of hard work, innovation and commitment to the local community.

“We are currently seeing a large volume of deals in the food processing and foodservice distribution sectors and have advised a number of clients on deals on both the buy-side and the sell-side over the past two years.”