Baker McKenzie acted as lead legal adviser to MHP, an international food and agri company, on its strategic investment agreement with Th. Nitsiakos AVEE, one of the largest vertically integrated meat production companies in Greece. The investment supports MHP’s continued expansion in Europe and reflects its long term approach to partnering with established local businesses and supporting their growth.
Under the agreement, MHP will acquire a 70% stake in Th. Nitsiakos AVEE through three sequential phases, with completion of the first phase subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals across multiple jurisdictions. The agreement further provides MHP with the contractual right to increase its shareholding to up to 100% at a later stage, subject to agreed conditions.
The phased acquisition structure – combined with a complex multijurisdictional regulatory landscape – reflects the considerable legal and commercial complexity of this high-value cross-border transaction. Baker McKenzie has advised MHP since the outset of this journey, providing integrated, end-to-end legal guidance across every phase – from initial structuring, legal due diligence coordination to multiparty negotiations.
Led by M&A Partner Viacheslav Yakymchuk (Kyiv), the cross border Baker McKenzie team included:
- M&A / Transactional: Alyona Bon (Counsel, Kyiv), Helen Johnson (Partner, London), Mykyta Stebliuk (Associate, Kyiv) and Nikki Bradford (Associate, London)
- Antitrust / Regulatory: Tom Jenkins (Partner, Brussels), Bram Hoorelbeke (Counsel, Brussels), Pavlo Prokhorov (Associate, Brussels)
Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm (Athens, Greece) acted as local legal counsel of MHP on the transaction, with a team including Partner Elisabeth Eleftheriades, Senior Associate Angelos Charalampidis and Associate Nikolas Vellios.
Commenting on the transaction, Viacheslav Yakymchuk said:
“This is a landmark transaction of exceptional strategic importance – a rare and highly notable example of a Ukrainian blue-chip company acquiring a leading business in the European Union. Its scale, complexity and ambition set it apart – from the multiphase acquisition structure and demanding multijurisdictional regulatory process to the years of preparation and coordination required to bring it to signing. Having supported MHP from the earliest stages of this journey, we are proud to have helped deliver a transaction that marks an important milestone in the client’s European growth story.”
