Nestlé Australia Ltd and Societe des Produits Nestle S.A. acquisition of Fonterra's Peters ice cream business in Western Australia (WA)
Advisor to Nestlé Australia Ltd and Societe des Produits Nestle S.A. on their acquisition of Fonterra's Peters ice cream business in WA. Nestlé also acquired the gourmet ice cream brand Connoisseur together with rights to a number of other regional ice cream brands, including Memphis Meltdown. Nestlé now owns the best selling Peter's ice cream brand Australia wide.
Mars Australia v Sweet Rewards - Federal Court - IP Litigation
We succesfully defended Sweet Rewards Pty Ltd, the Australian distributor of Petra Foods Limited. Mars Australia alleged that its rights in the packaging of its iconic Maltesers product have been infringed by a “Malt Balls” chocolate ball product sold by Sweet Rewards. Sweet Rewards also supplies the same product (in different packaging) to Coles Supermarkets as part of its very successful “You'll Love Coles” home brand range.
Innovation Patent dispute over low GI white bread
Advisor to Quality Bakers Australia Pty Limited, a Goodman Fielder Group company, in Federal Court proceedings brought by George Weston Foods Limited. At issue was infringement and validity of an innovation patent owned by George Weston, in relation to low GI white bread. Mallesons’ team included experienced patent litigators and chemists and we also worked closely with our client’s in-house counsel and technical experts.
Nestlé Australia- acquisition of Uncle Toby’s
Advisor to Nestlé Australiaon its acquisition of iconic Australian food companies, The Uncle Toby's Company and Uncle Toby’s Foods. Nestlé Australia Ltd acquired the Uncle Toby’s snacks, cereals and soups businesses for $890 million in July 2006. The famous Australian brands acquired by Nestlé include Uncle Toby's, Vita Brits, OT's, Rollups, Reels, Le Snak and Country Cup.
Lion Nathan
We have acted for Lion Nathan for many years, providing advice about the marketing, branding and packaging of its beer, wine and ready- to -drink brands including Tooheys, Hahn, XXXX, Petaluma and Bridgewater Mill.
Kirin's acquisition of Lion Nathan
Advisor to Lion Nathan on this acquisition. The price Kirin offered values Lion Nathan at $6.5 billion on an equity basis and $8.2 billion on enterprise value, at $12.22 per share. The acquisition was recommended unanimously by Lion's independent directors.
Cadbury v Darrell Lea (Federal Court Proceedings)
We act for Cadbury in these long running proceedings which concern Darrell Lea's use of the colour purple on the packaging of its chocolate confectionery products. Cadbury claims that, by using a colour similar to Cadbury purple, consumers are likely to be misled or deceived in breach of section 52 of the Trade Practices Act. The progress of this matter has been widely publicised around the world, particularly in intellectual property circles.
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Chambers Global Guide 2006-2007