29/07/2019

G+T advises AB InBev on a transaction enabling Asahi to acquire Australian brewer Carlton & United Breweries for $16bn.

Carlton & United Breweries is the company behind some of Australia’s best-known beers including Carlton Draught, Great Northern, Victoria Bitter and 4 Pines.

Co-head of the G+T M&A/Corporate Advisory group Neil Pathak said, “We are pleased to be advising our client Anheuser-Busch InBev on this significant transaction. G+T’s involvement has been multi-faceted, and we are grateful to be working on this dynamic transaction which is one of the largest Australian M&A deals this year.”

The G+T team is led by M&A partners Neil Pathak and Craig Semple. Neil and Craig work alongside partner Deborah Johns, lawyers Matthew Ampt and Grace Chia. Partners Elizabeth Avery and Gina Cass-Gottlieb led on Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation matters. Banking + Infrastructure partner Simon Lynch and special counsel Louise McCoach, supported by lawyer Hamish Nicholson are advising on financing matters and partner Muhunthan Kanagaratnam and lawyer Matthew Charman are advising on the tax elements of the transaction. Real Estate + Projects partners Ben Fuller and Steven Mackay were assisted by lawyer Isabelle Wong, and special counsel James Pomeroy advised on employment matters.

Gilbert + Tobin advises AB InBev alongside law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Allen & Overy are advising Asahi.

G+T has also advised AB InBev on its acquisitions of 4 Pines and Pirate Life in recent years.

Gilbert + Tobin’s market-leading M&A/Corporate Advisory team regularly advises on many of Australia’s largest and most innovative transactions, including recently advising DuluxGroup on its proposed $4.2 billion acquisition by Nippon Paint, BGH Capital on its $2.3 billion acquisition of Navitas, KKR on its $2 billion acquisition of MYOB, Jacobs Engineering Group on the $4.6 billion sale of its energy, chemicals and resources group to WorleyParsonsTPG on its $1 billion acquisition of Greencross and Viva Energy on its $2.65 billion IPO.