Cleary Gottlieb represented Sucres et Denrées S.A. (SUCDEN) in a buyout of 49% stake of TRIO Group (TRIO) in the joint sugar business in the Lipetsk region of Russia thus consolidating 100%.
The deal was signed on March 20, 2020, and closed on May 15, 2020, following receipt of the unconditional merger control clearance in Russia. This transaction makes SUCDEN one of the top-five producers of sugar in Russia. The acquired business includes Yelets sugar plant, which is one of the top-three sugar plants in Russia by capacity and product quality.
In 2019, Cleary represented SUCDEN in its initial 51% investment in the business.
SUCDEN is a private French group with a turnover of around $6 billion. It is a global commodity merchant, grower, processor, logistics provider, distributor, trader, broker, and ship owner. The group’s key activities are in sugar, cocoa, coffee, ethanol, and derivatives brokerage.
TRIO is a full-cycle agricultural holding, which began its operations in 1997. The group comprises various agricultural assets, including crop production, dairy-cattle breeding, and full-cycle potato farming.