Pestalozzi advises Archer Daniels Midland Company on its USD 440 million sale of its global chocolate business to Cargill
On 2 September 2014, Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) announced its agreement to sell its global chocolate business to Cargill for USD 440 million. Included in the sale are chocolate business operations located in Rolle, Switzerland; Hazleton, Pennsylvania; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Georgetown, Ontario; Liverpool, U.K.; Manage, Belgium; and Mannheim, Germany. Approximately 700 employees will be transferred to Cargill with the sale. ADM supplies customers around the world with its cocoa ingredients from the company’s cocoa operations in Mississauga, Ontario; Koog aan de Zaan and Wormer, Netherlands; Mannheim, Germany; Ilhéus, Brazil; Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; Kumasi, Ghana; and Singapore. With more than 270 processing plants, 470 crop procurement facilities, and the world’s premier crop transportation network ADM helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 140 countries. The sale was closed on 31 July 2015. Pestalozzi advised ADM on all Swiss law aspects of the transaction. Law firm Jenner & Block LLP coordinated the global transaction.