INDUSTRIES & PRACTICES

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Food, Beverage & Agribusiness

OUR APPROACH IS ALIGNED WITH YOUR GOALS - SOLVING PROBLEMS, CAPITALIZING ON OPPORTUNITIES AND FINDING NEW WAYS TO GROW.

Overview

To find a Food, Beverage & Agribusiness lawyer that can assist you with your legal matter, please click on the button below.

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Dorsey lawyers are ready to serve. Whether we are resolving disputes, completing transactions, or taking on the operational challenges of daily business, we know you look to be ahead of schedule, trends and the competition. Always ahead means we’re prepared to help you achieve the goals most important to making your business a success.

 

  • Audit/tax compliance
  • Beer, wine & spirits
  • Benefits and compensation
  • Construction
  • Contract disputes
  • Cooperative law
  • Environmental law
  • Food safety
  • General corporate
  • Immigration
  • Intellectual property
  • Joint ventures
  • Labor and employment
  • Lending and finance
  • Licensing agreements
  • Litigation
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Precision agriculture
  • Real estate
  • Regulatory
  • Securities

View our Food, Beverage & Agribusiness Videos here.

Experience

Representative M&A Transactions

  • Represented Murphy USA Inc., an energy retail marketing company, in the sale of its 100 MGY ethanol plant in Hereford, Texas, to Green Plains Inc.
  • Represented CHS, Inc. in the purchase of 51% of CZL Ltd., a private company located in Tokyo, Japan.
  • Represented Ridley U.S. Holdings in the purchase of substantially all of the assets of the Golden Lyk® compressed livestock feed block business from Golden Lyk, LLC, and its parent company, Denco, LLC.
  • Represented Miller Milling Company LLC in the asset purchase of three flours mills located in Oakland, CA, Saginaw, TX and New Prague, MN from ConAgra Foods Food Ingredients Company, Inc.
  • Represented The Mosaic Company in the purchase of the phosphate business from CF Industries, Inc.
  • Represented Syngenta Seeds in the purchase of GreenLeaf Genetics, LLC. from Pioneer Hi-Bred International.
  • Represented Viterra, Inc. as US Counsel in the sale of its North American livestock feed division to Hi-Pro Feeds, LP.
  • Represented Bellisio Foods, Inc. in its sale to Centre Partners.
  • Represented Land O’Lakes, Inc. in the purchase of a 50% joint venture investment stake in Eggland’s Best, Inc.
  • Represented Restaurant Technologies, Inc. in its sale to EQT Infrastructure.
  • Represented SUPERVALU INC. in the sale of Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s and Star Market stores and related Osco and Sav-on-in-store pharmacies to AB Acquisition LLC.
  • Represented Tate & Lyle PLC in the purchase of the business and assets of Winway Biotechnology Nantong Co. Ltd. located in the People’s Republic of China.

Representative Financing Transactions

  • Counsel for Issuer in a $2,000,000,000 Shelf Registration for Class B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock of CHS, Inc.
  • $300,000,000 Rule 144 A Offering for 6% of Land O’Lakes, Inc.
  • Private Offering for Senior Secured Debentures of Richardson International (U.S.) Limited.
  • Counsel for Issuer in a $1,000,000,000 Public Offer for $500,000,000 1.400% Notes due 2017 and $500,000,000 2.00% Notes due 2019 for General Mills, Inc.
  • Shelf registration for 8% Senior Notes of SUPERVALU INC.

Representative Lending Transactions

  • Represented CHS Inc. with respect to its $5 billion line of credit with CoBank.
  • Represented Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative with respect to its $150MM senior syndicated revolving credit facility and a $60 MM institutionally-placed term loan facility.
  • Represented SUPERVALU INC. with respect to its $750MM revolving loan credit facility with JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A.
  • Represented CHS Inc. with respect to its $250 million grain trading facility in Brazil with Credit Agricole and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
  • Represented Black Jack Pork, LLC and its affiliates with respect to its $25MM senior asset based credit facility and $8MM mezzanine debt and equity investment.

Representative L&E Work

  • Defended pork processing and packing company against class-action claims of involving allegations of pay stub violations, failure to pay overtime wages, off-the-clock work, automatic lunch deduction, donning and doffing, and violation of Business and Professions section 17200.
  • Represented American Legend Cooperative in a AAA Int’l Centre for Dispute Resolution case for breach of employment agreement claims against a British respondent.

Representative IP Litigation

  • Represented largest exporter of U.S. beef to Korea in 5-week jury trial on trademark, contract, and unfair competition tort claims. ConAgra v. Kim, et al.
  • Represented Land O’Lakes, Inc. in a patent case directed to non-fat dairy products.
  • Counsel to plaintiff in both a New York Supreme Court case and an appraisal proceeding before an expert accountant resolving post-closing audit adjustment claims by Cargill again South American company Bunge.
  • Counsel for American claimant asserting breach of employment agreement claims against a British respondent.
  • Defended pork processing and packing company against class-action claims of involving allegations of pay stub violations, failure to pay overtime wages, off-the-clock work, automatic lunch deduction, donning and doffing, and violation of Business and Professions section 17200.

Accolades

Best Lawyers

US News Best Lawyers 2022 Leading Technology Law Firm

Best Law Firms-25 Nationally Ranked Dorsey Practices 2021

US News Best Lawyers 2022 Top M&A Law Firm

BTI Client Service A-Team 2022

Among 27 Highly Recommended Law Firms BTI Consulting Group 2019

US News Best Lawyers 2021 Tier 1 Commercial Litigation Law Firm

US News Best Lawyers 2021 Tier 1 Securities-Capital Markets Practice

Contacts

Michael Droke
Industry Group Co-Chair
Bridget Hayden
Industry Group Co-Chair
Morgan Helme
Industry Group Vice Chair

Industries & Practices

Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring
  • Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring
  • Benefits & Compensation
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Construction & Design
  • Cooperative Law
  • Corporate Governance & Compliance
  • Environmental
  • Immigration
  • Intellectual Property Litigation
  • Labor & Employment
  • Lending Transactions
  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Real Estate & Land Use
  • Technology Commerce
  • Trademark & Copyright