Van Bael & Bellis assists Veiling Haspengouw in setting up innovative joint venture with UNIVEG

• 15/09/2015
• News

Van Bael & Bellis’ corporate M&A team assisted Veiling Haspengouw, one of the largest fruit auction cooperatives in Belgium, in setting up a joint venture with UNIVEG, one of the largest global players in the fruit and vegetable market.

In this new joint venture structure, the first of its sort in the EU, Veiling Haspengouw will continue to exist as a cooperative but will be strengthened by a broader distribution channel. To this end, UNIVEG has taken a stake in two subsidiaries of Veiling Haspengouw: H-Fruit, the sales organisation for fruit produced by Veiling Haspengouw’s fruit growing members, and H-Pack, the sorting and packing station of the auction. The project was further supported by AIF (the investment fund of Groep Boerenbond), the representative organisation of the agricultural sector in Belgium. 

The parties obtained prior approval by the Belgian Competition Authority and the Flemish Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (within the framework of the CMO Regulation). The transaction eventually closed on 28 August 2015. 

The corporate team was led by partner Michel Bonne and consisted of associates Mattias Verbeeck, Hannelore Matthys and Giovanni Verkooren. The firm’s competition, employment, real estate, commercial and intellectual property teams were also involved in the transaction. 

Further press releases on the transaction can be found here and here.