Anna M. Graves, Pillsbury’s Restaurant, Food & Beverage Industry Group co-leader, handles complex M&A transactions, private offerings, joint ventures, start-up structuring and financing, and general corporate matters.
Anna represents both buyers and sellers in merger and acquisition transactions. Her clients include major national and international restaurant chains, early-stage restaurant ventures, food and beverage manufacturers and distributors, and consumer and retail companies.
Increasingly, she advises global operators as they bring their brands to the U.S. or invest in existing U.S. companies. Anna also negotiates brand licenses and extensions, restaurant management agreements, and supply and distribution agreements for restaurant and retail companies.
REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE :
- Represented Jollibee Foods Corp., a Philippines-based publicly-traded company and the largest restaurant company in Asia, in its multi-stage acquisition of Smashburger for over $200M.
- Advised the owners of Tijuana Flats, an iconic restaurant chain known throughout the Southeast U.S., in a restructuring and subsequent sale of a significant interest to private equity firms.
- Represented Shenandoah Growers, one of the leading providers of fresh herbs in the United States, in a restructuring and substantial private equity investments, and with the acquisition of HerbCo International Inc., another major fresh herb company.
- Represented California Pizza Kitchen in its initial public offering, subsequent reincorporation in Delaware, secondary offering of shares, master distribution agreement, and numerous marketing and licensing matters.
Associations : Chair of the UCLA Extension California Restaurant Industry Conference, held in Los Angeles each Spring
EDUCATION :
- J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 1985
- A.B., Cornell University, 1981
ADMISSIONS : California
COURTS : U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Cost
Rate : $$$
