© 2014 The Texas Lawbook.
By Natalie Posgate – (September 10) – Japanese food and chemical corporation Ajinomoto Co. Inc. announced Wednesday that its U.S. subsidiary will acquire Windsor Quality Holdings, LP for approximately $800 million.
Jones Day represented Ajinomoto and Baker Botts represented Windsor, a private Houston-based manufacturer of ethnic frozen foods in the U.S. that owns brands including José Olé, Ling Ling and Tai Pei.
Houston partner Angela Olivarez and Dallas associate Alain Dermarkar as well as Tokyo of counsel Eric Sedlak of Jones Day led the deal for Ajinomoto, which is the company’s largest acquisition to date. Other Jones Day attorneys on the deal included M&A associates Bobby Cardone, Alexandra Wilde, Allan Kirk and Colin McGee of Dallas and Houston; Dallas IP counsel David Odom; and employee benefits and executive compensation of counsel Gary Short and associate Lindsay Murphy, who are also from the Dallas office.
More attorneys from Jones Day’s Tokyo, Chicago, New York, Cleveland and Washington, D.C. offices also worked on the transaction.
Dallas partners Geoff Newton and Brian Henchey led the M&A matters for Windsor. Other Baker Botts attorneys on the deal included Dallas partners Steve Marcus and Jeremy Gott and associates Kevin Henderson, Tara Lancaster and Mary Balthrop; Houston partners Gail Stewart and Mark Bodron and associate Stephanie Jeane; Austin partner Aileen Hooks; and attorneys from the firm’s New York and Palo Alto offices.
In 1996, Newton represented Windsor when it was founded through an acquisition of frozen food companies formerly owned by the Keebler Company. He has advised Windsor on the company’s major acquisitions since then, including the 2004 acquisition of Specialty Brands Inc. and 2011 acquisition of Discovery Foods.
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