Pacific Andes BANKING SPECIAL M&A Ronil Sujan (1967) has been Managing Director and Head of Asia-Pacific M&A since 2008. Hejoined Rabobank in 1998 and has been instrumental in the success of Rabobank India Finance. Prior to Rabobank, he held senior positions at Bank of America in India, ANZ Investment Bank in London and Price Waterhouse in the US. Sujan is a board member of the Execu- tive Committee of the Rabobank-Rothschild Cooperation. go down well, notably here in Asia. This is a fast-moving, entrepreneurial, relationship-driven market, so Rabobank's speed, knowledge and relationship management skills are advantages." It's a good place to go down well. GDP growth in India, China and Indonesia is more than five percent per year and their combined population is a number of core Rabobank clients globally in several transactions including: Sara Lee in the sale of their Spanish bakery business; Barry Callebaut in the sale of Stollwerck (read more on page 36);Tereos in the sale of Quartier Francais; Tangerine in the sale of the company to the Blackstone Group; Bright Dairy in the acquisition of Yoplait and in the acquisition of Synlait milk; Schreiber in the acquisition of Dean Foods yoghurt business and Forlasa in the sale of the company to Lactalis. more than one-third of the world's. Fernandez is positive about prospects in Latin America, too. He says: "Latin America, and specifïcally South America, is set play out as a global force in F&A markets, not just in growth but in influence on the international space. Clients want knowledge, but they also want the integrity and continuity. That's a strong card we have: competence with integrity." Durand spells it out. "Our strategy is clear: To become the trusted advisor to our chosen core clients and position Rabobank, together with WCI and FAR as the food and agri thought leader. It is about working intensively together and cross-fertilising our knowledge and skills." In 2010-2011 Rabobank advised When a consortium of investors led by global fishing giant Pacific Andes looked at expanding its capability in Europe, itturned to Rabobank's M&A group as its sole financial advisor. Result: the acquisition of 10 German and French businesses of seafood processor Icelandic Group HF. But Rabobank's involvement didn't end there. The bank agreed to cover the Pacific Andes consortium's obligations under the sale and purchase agreement. It is also currently in advanced discussions over financing. With Pacific Andes based in Hong Kong and Icelandic Group in Europe, the transaction was facilitated by Rabobank's M&A teams in Germany and Hong Kong. Ronil Sujan, Head of Asia-Pacific M&A, says: 'This was a complex deal and a complex situation and the teams combined well in managing the client's expectations as well as concluding the deal. The bank also participated in the financing and hedging facilities, so it was a fully integrated service facility that we offered our cliënt." The transaction allows Pacific Andes to extend its operations by gaining direct access to secondary processing in the high-value- added markets in frozen seafood in Europe. It's a prime illustration of how Rabobank is using a global M&A approach to benefit its clients - and to help secure other business for the bank. Emmanuel Durand, Global Head of M&A, says: "Pacific Andes is a world leader in the seafood market and is expanding significantly globally. This cross-border acquisition has allowed Pacific Andes to expand and implement its strategie ambitions. It has also presented the bank with financing opportunities. Because of this transaction, we are going to have other M&A opportunities in the future with Pacific Andes on the acquisition side, the capital structure side and every different possible strategie direction." RI WORI.D

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blad 'RI World' (EN) | 2011 | | pagina 42