Clifford Chance advises Maxim’s Caterers Limited on reorganisation involving Starbucks licensed business and DFI Retail Group

Global law firm Clifford Chance is advising Maxim’s Caterers Limited (MX), a company incorporated in Hong Kong, on the reorganisation of the parties’ interests in MX and its subsidiary businesses, including the transfer of MX’s interest in Coffee Concepts, the Starbucks licensed business, to DFI Retail Group (DFI), and DFI’s exit from its shareholding in MX.

As part of the reorganisation, MX’s interests in Coffee Concepts, which operates more than 1,100 Starbucks coffeehouses across Thailand, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia and Laos, will transfer to DFI. Hongkong Caterers Limited (Hongkong Caterers) will become the sole shareholder of MX.

Founded in 1956, MX became a joint venture between Hongkong Caterers and the Jardine Matheson Group in 1972. For the past 40 years, Jardines’ interests in MX have been held through DFI. Over that time, MX has grown into one of Asia’s largest food and beverage groups, with over 2,000 stores across nine markets.

For more details about the transaction, see DFI and Hongkong Caterers’ joint announcement.

Partners Bryan Koo and Tommy Tam led the Clifford Chance team advising on various aspects of the transaction:

• M&A: Counsel Ryan Wong and Winnie Poon, senior associate Petra Ho, associate Priscilla Au-Yeung, legal assistant Po Chan and trainee solicitor Kristy Lam.
• Antitrust: Partner Bai Yong, counsel Dayu Man and associates Ziwen Wang and Hendrik Coppoolse.
• Technology: Counsel Brian Harley and David Olds and associates Chris Peng and Sherman Poon.