BABC


The British American Business Council is committed to promoting transatlantic trade and investment between the US and the UK


Contact: Lauren Hunt T: 0845 603 6650


BABC Patrons


City law firm in £1.4bn crunch talks


Mills & Reeve has advised the management team of Weetabix on its sale to US firm Post Holdings for £1.4bn. The sale follows on from the


£1.2bn deal in 2012 which saw Chinese company Bright Food acquire a 60 per cent stake in the iconic breakfast brand. In 2015 the Hong Kong-based


investment firm Baring Private Equity House invested in the company. Mills & Reeve advised the Weetabix management team on both deals. Sales of Weetabix in China doubled in 2016 and it is the largest producer of breakfast cereal in the UK. Post Holdings is the third-largest cereal firm in the


US and owns brands including Golden Crisp, Cocoa Pebbles and Great Grains. Mills & Reeve once again


advised the Weetabix management team on the sale, working with other advisers in the UK, US, China and Hong Kong to enable the deal to be announced on 18 April. Current chief executive at


Weetabix, Giles Turrell, will become chairman of Weetabix on completion of the deal. He said: “This is a fantastic deal


for all stakeholders, and especially the long-term future success of the company. “Without question the advice, counsel and support of Anthony


and his team was critical throughout the process. A complex deal with multiple parties, time zones, and languages, it was the professionalism and knowledge of Anthony and his team that ensured we got across the line.” The Mills & Reeve team was led


by partner Anthony McGurk and included principal associates Vanessa Walton and Ryan Hawley, associate Emily Walker and trainee Elle Outram.


Third plant for


Goodfish Group Cannock-based Goodfish Group has opened a plant in Loughborough. Goodfish is an injection moulding


and toolmaking business, and the new Loughborough plant will add a third mouldshop and toolroom. The others are in Cannock and Worcester. The new plant will be operated


as Goodfish (East Midlands) Ltd, or GEM, and will add another 20 injection moulding machines, five vacuum-forming machines, supported by robots and other ancillary equipment. The plant will be managed by


Andy Hollis, who joined Goodfish in 2011. Group managing director, Greg McDonald said: “The additional moulding capacity enables us to take on larger projects without the risk of testing our capacity levels. And with our moulding press range stretched upwards to 1,000 tonnes, we can also take on a wider range of work.”


Visiting delegation (from left): Ken Filipiak, Paul Faulkner, Ray Kirchner, Lauren Hunt, Mercedes Sanchez-Moore, Julian Beer, Steve Allen, Russell Jeans, Mark Smith


Ohio town reaps membership benefits


A delegation from the city of Mentor, Ohio, visited the West Midlands to boost trade between the US and the UK. The Mentor trade mission was led by city manager Ken Filipiak and


international trade manager Mercedes Sanchez-Moore. The delegation met with representatives from BABC Midlands, Solihull


Council, Marketing Birmingham and the Department of International Trade. With these groups, the Mentor visitors heard about what the West Midlands had to offer as a place to invest, and also about the various infrastructure improvements planned, including HS2. The delegates were also given a tour of Birmingham City University and


later joined representatives of Asian Business Chamber of Commerce at their Vaisakhi celebrations (see page 38). Mr Filipiak said: “The city of Mentor came to realise the full benefit of our Chamber membership on our recent trade mission. The tremendous opportunities in the Birmingham region are clear and we are excited to share this insight with the companies we represent.”


June 2017 CHAMBERLINK 27


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