Parmalat Canada and its parent, the Lactalis Group acquire natural cheese division of Kraft Heinz Canada

Our Toronto and Ottawa offices advised long-time client Parmalat Canada and its parent, the Lactalis Group on the acquisition of Kraft Heinz Canada ULC’s Canadian natural cheese division for C$1.62bn. The transaction includes a production facility located in Ingleside, Ontario, volumes of milk quotas and almost 400 employees. 

The transaction represents a significant investment by the Lactalis Group in the Canadian dairy sector. It also shows a strong commitment to Parmalat Canada’s current business, which includes nearly 3,000 employees, 16 dairy processing plants and a dedicated research and development facility.

The transaction was led by Walied Soliman and Paul Fitzgerald and included Bruce Sheiner, Trevor Zeyl, Joseph Palmieri (corporate, M&A and securities), Eric Reither (commercial), Barry Segal (tax), Martin Masse, Kevin Ackhurst, Michael Brown, Erika Woolgar (competition/antitrust), Martin Rochette (pensions and benefits), Janet Bobechko (environmental) Jung-Kay Chiu (intellectual property), Michael Lieberman (real estate), Nicole Sigouin and Noah Schein (banking). Andrea D’Ambra (New York), Florinda Baldridge (Houston) and Sam Sessler (Dallas) of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Global eDiscovery Services team provided assistance with responding to extensive information requests from the Competition Bureau.