Cravath, DLA sip on Starbucks' $620M purchase of Teavana

The Am Law Daily

11-26-2012

Two leading Am Law 100 firms are advising on Atlanta-based Teavana's $620 million all-cash sale to Starbucks, the biggest deal to date for the world's largest coffee retailer.

Seattle-based Starbucks announced Nov. 14 that it had reached to a deal to acquire Teavana, a specialty tea retailer founded in 1997. Starbucks turned to a team from Cravath, Swaine & Moore led by M&A partners Faiza Saeed and Eric Schiele, tax partner Lauren Angelilli, executive compensation partner Eric Hilfers, real estate partner Kevin Grehan, and environmental partner Matthew Morreale. The firm has handled other corporate work for Starbucks.

Robert "Jay" Smith Jr., global cochair of the corporate practice at DLA Piper, and corporate and securities partner Brian Gordon are leading a team from the firm advising Teavana. DLA serving as Teavana's outside counsel on such matters as the company's $100 million initial public offering in 2011—an assignment that generated $750,000 in legal fees and expenses, according to an SEC filing at the time.

Teavana's general counsel is David Christopherson. The company's sale to Starbucks is expected to close by the end of the year, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.

The merger between Teavana and Starbucks is the latest shakeup in the coffee and tea retail sector.

In July, Cooley and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom grabbed roles on German conglomerate Joh. A. Benckiser's $974 million acquisition of Starbucks rival Peet's Coffee & Tea.

—The Am Law Daily