DLA Piper has advised the NASDAQ listed Hain Celestial Group, Inc. on its acquisition of the Mona-Group, a leading business group in the field of plant-based food and beverages with branches in Germany and Austria. The transaction was implemented through a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hain Celestial Europe.

In 2014, the Mona-Group generated a turnover of EUR 45 million. Its product portfolio includes plant-based milk alternatives known under the brands Joya and Happy . The Hain Celestial Group is a global manufacturer of organic herbal products with headquarters in Lake Success, New York, United States and subsidiaries in North America, Europe and India. With this acquisition Hain Celestial intends to expand its business into South-Eastern Europe via Austria and Germany.

The cross-practice transaction team in Vienna was led by Christoph Mager, Johanna Höltl und Suzy Park and included Michaela Wernitznig-Kittel, Elisabeth Stichmann (Corporate), Christian Stuppnig (Employment), Clemens Bärenthaler (Real Estate), Stefan Panic (IP/IT), Alexander Schultmeyer, Alexander Scheuwimmer (Finance), Florian Schuhmacher and Ana Feiler (Regulatory).

"This transaction is a perfect example of our cross-border legal advice. I am pleased that we were able complete this deal together with our German colleagues in spite of a very tight time schedule to the full satisfaction of our client", said Christoph Mager, partner and head of the Corporate group at DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach.

The German transaction team was led by partner Kirsten Girnth and included lawyers from the Cologne and Frankfurt offices: Simon Boll, Kristin Vogt, Jens-Peter Eickhoff (Corporate), Guido Kleve (Regulatory), Sascha Morgenroth, Kathrin Schlote (Employment), Kais Torchani (Finance), Moritz Mursa (Real Estate) and Semin O (Regulatory). The seller was advised by Baker & McKenzie Diwok Hermann Petsche Rechtsanwälte LLP & Co KG.