Old Dutch pub
Defence SIGNING
WHAT'S NewS Issue 4 April 1998
London's Judith
Hamilton
of working with Rabobank's
M&A team was that, not only
did they have specialist
knowledge, they also
understood the Group culture
and approval process, where
an external advisor would
not.' Indeed, to ultimately
close the deal required
intensive and tintely input
from three branches of DLL -
Eindhoven, the UK and Dublin
- and three branches of Rabo -
London, New York and
Dallas.
was these which Associates
ultimately wished to keep in
place.
Although Associates were
already a cliënt of Dallas
Branch, the facilities they
required to support the CEF
business were not within their
existing approval. Within the
space of a couple of weeks,
new approvals had to be
sought from the New York
credit committee to ensure that
the required facility could be
put in place. This done, it was
then necessary for London
Branch to effectively 'break
out' the CEE business and
create a new series of
transactions. The result was a
real case of team effort. 'With
only few days in which to get
the necessary arrangements in
place, and hearing in mind the
merger of Ebro Agricolas with
SGA. The Ministry of
Agriculture has for a long time
been looking for a way to
prevent other European sugar
companies from establishing a
foothold on the Spanish
market for fear that sugar beet
production quotas would be
transferred to another country.
In the end, a stable
shareholders configuration was
arrived at, in which the rural
savings banks also play a role.
This gave the Ministry the
necessary confidence to give a
green light to the merger.'
SWEET TASTE
Our mandate to lead manage
the syndicated ioan and thus
fact that no deal is done until
it is signed, everyone was
working in the ultimate
knowledge that it could
potentially all fall through at
the eleventh hour,' says
Hamilton.
Fortunately, this was not the
case and the agreement was
eventually signed. When the
transaction was closed, DLL
were particularly pleased with
the competitive price achieved
as a result of the targeted
auction process. Associates
were also very happy with the
result of the transaction, which
has been seen as an important
strategie acquisition for the
expansion of their business in
the UK and Europe. DI.L's
director of the international
leasing division Phil Green
commented: 'An added benefit
further aid Flbro in its strategie
reorientation substantially
enhanced our prestige on the
Spanish E&A market. 'For one
thing, we managed to win the
mandate in a market in which
there wasn't much business
going around,' says van
Schelven. 'As an office just
setting out on our own after
the Banco Popular partnership
dissolved, it was an important
boost to our image. Also, in
the end, demand for the
syndicated loan exceeded
supply by over two-thirds, so
its success, combined with the
high quality of all of the
syndicate participants, left a
sweet taste in everyone's
mouth.'
Rabobank's Henk van der Stelt and professor Jeroen Kremers -
director of the Dutch domestic monetary and financial affairs,
signing our mandate from the Dutch Ministry of Defence - a deal to
the tune ofNLG 1.6 billion annually (see What's NewS February
issue, p. 10)
in briefj
In an effort to inspire informal communication throughout the
network, colleagues in Utrecht took the initiative and created in
the office building a pub called The Old Dutch. Up and running
since January, the bar is serviced by a 40-strong group of
Rabobank employees volunteering their spare time to pour
drinks - while networking. According to M&A's Tjard
Westbroek, 'the bar, in the image of an old Dutch "bruin cafe",
provides an informal meeting place for employees - a
communication platform we feit was previously missing.' The
Old Dutch welcomes any of the network visiting Utrecht to call
in for a casual drink and a chat. And any international
contributions to decorate the walls would be appreciated. The
Old Dutch is located on the ground floor and is open Thursdays
and Fridays, 17.00-20.00.
Bottoms up at our own Rabobank pub opening
