February 2, 2014
A team of McGuireWoods lawyers, led by Charlotte partners Harrison Marshall, Chris Scheurer and Rick Viola, represented Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. (formerly NYSE: HTSI) in connection with its merger with a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR). Under the terms of the merger agreement, Harris Teeter shareholders will receive $49.38 per share of Harris Teeter common stock. The all-cash transaction, which closed on Jan. 28, 2014, is valued at approximately $2.5 billion.
Harris Teeter, which is headquartered in Matthews, N.C., is a regional grocery store chain that operates 227 stores and employs approximately 25,000 associates. Kroger, one of the world’s largest retailers and a Fortune 50 company, operates 2,641 supermarkets and multi-department stores under two dozen local banner names, 786 convenience stores, 327 fine jewelry stores, 1,218 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food processing plants in the United States. Harris Teeter will continue to operate under the Harris Teeter banner.
McGuireWoods, along with its predecessor firm Helms, Mulliss & Wicker, has represented Harris Teeter (formerly Ruddick Corporation) for more than 70 years. The relationship was started when Fred Helms, the founder of Helms, Mulliss & Wicker, began representing the company in the 1940s. For the next 40 years, the relationship was led by Larry Dagenhart and then by Marshall. In addition to Marshall, Scheurer and Viola, the deal team consisted of partner Rakesh Gopalan, associates J.D. Costa, David Wolpa, Rob Crawford and Alex Scharyj, and paralegal Cheryl Smith. They were assisted by partner Taylor French and associate Felicia Mitchell, partners Manley Roberts and Ingrid McClintock, and partner Bob McElroy. Partners Peter Covington and L.D. Simmons successfully resolved the merger-related litigation, with assistance from senior counsel Angie Zimmern and associates Locke Beatty, Josh Davey and Grayson Lambert.