Harneys advises on largest-ever domestic M&A deal in BVI

Harneys has advised Road Town Wholesale Trading Ltd, a BVI-based retail and wholesale conglomerate, on the acquisition of 76.1 per cent of its issued shares by a wholly owned subsidiary of The North West Company Inc for a purchase price of approximately $32 million. The deal is believed to be the largest-ever M&A transaction involving a company operating and trading domestically in the BVI.

Senior associate George Weston advised Road Town Wholesale on corporate, commercial, real estate, licencing, taxation and other issues related to the sale.

The North West Company Inc (TSX: NWC) is a Canadian multinational grocery and retail company which operates stores in Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, Oceania and the Caribbean where its retail presence includes Cost-U-Less stores in the Cayman Islands, Barbados, Curacao, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and St. Croix. Road Town Wholesale, founded in 1961, is the largest grocery wholesale and retail chain in the BVI.

Harneys fields the BVI’s leading team of litigation, private client, funds, corporate and finance lawyers. The award-winning firm is the largest and longest established legal practice in the British Virgin Islands. The deal closed on 9 February 2017.