G
Groupe Lactalis
Acquirer counsel
Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Jack GrayPartner
Yannick PiettePartner
17 lawyers involved
Rainmaker
Loading page...
Groupe Lactalis acquires Saputo's UK dairy division from Saputo Inc. for £988 million $update-09-18
Deal Overview
- Value
- £988mUS$1.34bn · Disclosed
- Deal type
- M&A
- Structure
- Carve-out / asset sale
- Status
- Signed14 Aug 2026
Advisors
ACQUIRER
Weil, Gotshal & Manges Overview
- Acquirer: Groupe Lactalis, the family-owned French dairy group headquartered in Laval (founded 1933, c.85,500 staff, 270 dairies in 51 countries), buying through its holding company B.S.A. SAS.
- Acquiring: Saputo Inc.'s Dairy Division (UK) for an enterprise value of about £988 million (c.$1.34 billion): five plants at Hawes, Davidstow, Nuneaton, Kirkby and the Isle of Bute, c.1,300 employees and the Cathedral City, Davidstow, Wensleydale Creamery, Country Life, Clover and Utterly Butterly brands.
- Rationale: adds scale in cheddar, butter and spreads to Lactalis UK & Ireland's existing Redhill-based business (Président, Galbani, Seriously, Leerdammer, Orkney, Galloway; plants at Stranraer and Lubborn; c.445 staff). Lactalis expects to become a leader in the UK cheddar, butter and spreads markets on completion; Emmanuel Besnier, Chairman, called it 'a key milestone in Lactalis' development in the United Kingdom'.
- Acquirer counsel: Weil, Gotshal & Manges, led by corporate partners Jack Gray (London) and Yannick Piette (Paris) with partner David Avery-Gee and associates Margaret Babalola, Jessica Tang and Matthew Williams. Antitrust: Megan Granger, Annagiulia Zanazzo, Agnès de Fortanier. Technology and IP transactions: Barry Fishley, Hannah Rumble. Tax: Oliver Walker, Enda Kerin. Incentives: Kevin Donegan. Regulatory transactions: Seth Kerschner. ESG: Amy Waddington. Disputes: Hayley Lund, Stella Tregear. Employment: Mark Taylor.
- Co-counsel to Lactalis: Stephenson Harwood (buy-side legal due diligence and specialist input on the purchase agreement), led by private equity partners Malcolm MacDougall and Lucy Thorpe with John Alder and Rose Wakefield, real estate partner Catriona Berman and regulatory partner Feroze Abbas.
- Timing: definitive agreement announced 14 August 2026; closing expected by the end of Q1 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.
S
Saputo Inc.
Seller counsel
Seller counsel not yet recorded
Overview
- Target: Saputo Dairy UK (Weybridge, Surrey), the former Dairy Crest, which Saputo bought in April 2019 for £975 million and which is now its Dairy Division (UK): five manufacturing sites, c.1,300 employees, market-leading positions in cheddar (Cathedral City, Davidstow), butter and spreads (Country Life, Clover, Utterly Butterly), Wensleydale Creamery (acquired 2021, including PGI Yorkshire Wensleydale) and private-label supply.
- Scale: approx. C$1.2 billion of revenue over the last four quarters (c.US$865 million, c.€800 million), about 7% of Saputo's consolidated revenue; 94% of sales in UK retail and foodservice, 6% export.
- Seller: Saputo Inc., the Montréal-based, TSX-listed dairy processor, exiting the UK entirely. Carl Colizza, President and CEO: 'a disciplined step to refine our global footprint and sharpen our focus on platforms where Saputo competes from a position of strength'; proceeds to enhance financial flexibility and fund organic investment, capital projects and acquisitions. Shares closed up 1.04% at C$39.80 on the announcement.
- Seller counsel: Jones Day (London); no deal team published. The matter is listed on the bios of Vica Irani (corporate practice leader), Mark Jones (antitrust), Chris Papanicolaou (regulatory), Mélanie Staes (tax) and Daniel J. Pritchard (M&A).
- Financial adviser to Saputo: Houlihan Lokey (exclusive financial adviser on preparation, structuring and negotiation).