Dentons advises Premier Foods on its acquisition of Merchant Gourmet

London—Dentons has advised Premier Foods plc (“Premier Foods”), one of the UK’s largest food producers, on its acquisition of Merchant Gourmet, a premium, healthy and convenient meals brand, for an enterprise value of £48 million on a cash and debt-free basis.

The acquisition further strengthens Premier Foods’ portfolio of high-growth, consumer-focused food brands and supports its strategy of acquiring businesses where it can add value and accelerate growth.

Simon Rose, General Counsel and Company Secretary of Premier Foods, said: “Dentons continues to be a trusted partner for us. Their deep expertise, commercial approach and seamless teamwork across disciplines made a very real difference in helping us deliver another important acquisition for Premier Foods.”

Neil Nicholson, UK Corporate partner at Dentons, commented: “We are very pleased to have once again supported the Premier Foods team on this strategic transaction. This deal highlights both Premier Foods’ commitment to growing its portfolio and Dentons’ strength in advising on complex, high-profile acquisitions in the consumer goods sector.”

The Dentons multi-practice team advising Premier Foods was led by Neil Nicholson, with support from Corporate senior associate Ben Havard, Corporate associate Haejin Hong, and Corporate trainees Alice Brewer and Cherisay Juillet. The core specialist teams included Tax partner Lorna McCaa, Tax consultant John Finnick, Tax associate Guy Vouha, TMT partner Steph Innes, TMT senior associate Annabel Cox, with further specialist support from colleagues in Employment, Pension, EHS, Regulatory, Data protection, IP and Real Estate.

Dentons also advised Premier Foods on its previous acquisitions of The Spice Tailor and FUEL10K.