Cleary Gottlieb is representing Sodiaal, the French leading dairy cooperative group (with stakes in Yoplait and Candia), in the acquisition and debt restructuring of Entremont Alliance, a cheese manufacturer which has been experiencing serious financial difficulties for more than two years.
The acquisition will be accompanied by a restructuring of the Entremont Alliance financial debt and the issuance by Sodiaal of bonds redeemable into shares to the seller and certain banks.
The negotiations took place under the umbrella of the Comite Intermistériel de Restructuration Industrielle (CIRI) and the Mediation du Credit, two governmental bodies in charge of facilitating the negotiations among the various parties involved.
The deal signed on December 17, 2010 and is expected to close on or around January 1, 2011.
The transaction will create the second French and the fourth European milk group (with more than 5 billion tons of milk collected per year).