INTEGRITES advised InVivo Group* (France) on obtaining merger clearances in Ukraine and other FSU jurisdictions for the acquisition of Soufflet Group**, the French family-owned agri-food group. The transaction has been completed by parties in December 2021. Its value reaching EUR 2,2 bln makes the deal one the major ones on the global agri market in the last decade.

The firm’s Competition and Antitrust team conducted in-depth legal and economic analyses for the contemplated merger in three FSU jurisdictions to substantiate the transaction before the competition authorities. By November 2021 InVivo Group successfully obtained merger clearances in all the respective jurisdictions.

The deal will allow InVivo Group to create one of the largest agri holdings in Europe and the world and expand business in Ukraine where the Group owns the largest malt plant and several grain storage and processing facilities.

The teams working on the project were led by partners Illya Tkachuk and Kurmangazy Talzhanov.

*InVivo Group is the leading French agricultural cooperative group with 192 members represented across America, Europe, Asia and Africa. It is organized around three expert areas: Bioline by InVivo (agriculture), InVivo Retail (consumer retail) and Cordier by InVivo (wine).