The real goal is to build
intimacy with clients'
key decision makers,
and to become their long
term trusted advisors
COVER STORY IN THE BOARDROOM
Armando de Sanna
Armando de Sanna, Head of European
F&A M&A at Rabobank:
Rita Keskinyan
Leadership
In February 2010, Dutch bakery supplies group CSM purchased
Best Brands, one of the leading bakery manufacturers in the
United States, for USD 510 million. Rabobank, together with its
partner Rothschild, acted as CSM's exclusive advisor. Building
on a relationship that goes back many years, Rabobank used
its extensive knowledge of the bakery sector and its ability to
originate and execute cross-border deals to present CSM's board
with an initial deal proposal.
Armando de Sanna, Head of European Food and Agribusiness
M&A at Rabobank, explains that the key to winning the mandate
was the ability to rapidly prepare for the cliënt a full presentation
delivered from both sides of the Atlantic. This provided CSM chief
executive officer (CEO) Gerard Hoetmer and chief financial offreer
(CFO) Koos Kramer with a clear insight into the situation and seller's
intentions, as well as detail on Best Brands' recent performance. De
Sanna: 'The CSM deal was, in many ways, the ideal transaction as
it highlighted the competitive advantages that Rabobank has,
while stressing the importance of cliënt intimacy. Once our team
in the US spotted that Best Brands was coming to market, we jointly
drew up a short list of companies that would be a good fit, and
immediately agreed that CSM was at the top of our list. We called
Gerard Hoetmer and pitched the idea the following morning. He
called us back shortly hereafter and said that they were interested
in working with us." Arjen van Gorkom, who was Rabobank's Senior
Relationship Manager for CSM during the deal, explains that
Hoetmer's call was the start of the mandated process. "CSM
was eager to get its hands on the transaction, and given our
relationship, we were able to present the company as a very strong
candidate."
Rabobank's project leader in New York was Rita Keskinyan,
Managing Director who covers the bakery sector and has a long-
standing business relationship with the owners of Best Brands. It
was this combination of cliënt intimacy on both the seller's side as
well as the buyer's side that made this deal so special, Keskinyan
says. "In terms of linking two important, high-profile clients, this was
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