Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Sullivan & Cromwell are advising on Japan Tobacco’s USD2.4 billion take-private of publicly traded US tobacco giant Vector Group (VGR).
Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Japan Tobacco has reached an agreement with Vector, the fourth largest US tobacco company and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), for the acquisition via a tender offer of all the outstanding shares of VGR and a subsequent statutory merger.
Freshfields is advising Japan Tobacco on the buyout, with the team being led by corporate and M&A partners Sebastian Fain and Paul Humphreys. Vector, on the other hand, has appointed Sullivan & Cromwell as its legal counsel on the sale. The Sullivan & Cromwell team includes corporate partners Alison Ressler and Alan Fishman.
The deal is expected to be completed by 31 December this year, which will see VGR become a wholly-owned consolidated subsidiary of Japan Tobacco and it will be delisted from the NYSE.
