by Mark Curriden, Senior Legal Affairs Writer
DECEMBER 19 — Just 18 months ago, Bi-Lo was mired in bankruptcy. Today, the southern grocery chain, which is now owned by Dallas-based Lone Star Funds, announced it is acquiring Winn Dixie for $560 million in an all-cash deal.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Dallas office, led by corporate M&A partner says Jeffrey Chapman, who represented Greenville, South Carolina-based Bi-Lo in the transaction.
Hunton & Williams’ Dallas tax law partner Jeffrey Blair and associate Mark Melton also represented Bi-Lo, while King & Spalding and Greenberg Traurig handled the matter for Winn Dixie.
Bi-Lo agreed to pay Winn Dixie share holders $9.50 a share of common stock, which is 75 percent more than the stock’s closing price Friday. The new grocery chain will have 690 stores in eight southern states and employ 63,000 people.
Chapman also was involved in the representation of Bi-Lo in its sale out of bankruptcy in 2008. Bi-Lo’s Chapter 11 efforts were led by Josiah Daniel at Vinson & Elkins.
“As you can imagine, this BI-LO deal was a very different project and a testament to how quickly, even in a troubled economy, insightful owners and companies can turn a company on a dime to become buyers and not sellers,” said Chapman.
Two other Gibson Dunn partners from Dallas – employee benefits lawyer David Schiller and tax lawyer David Sinak – were involved in the representation of Bi-Lo.
The deal is expected to close before early April.
Mark Curriden is senior legal affairs writer for TexasLawbook.net and is Writer in Residence at SMU Dedman School of Law.
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