The Leeds office of national law firm Cobbetts LLP has advised Dr. Oetker (UK) Limited on its acquisitions of The Schwan Food Company’s UK pizza manufacturing plant, Schwan's pizza manufacturing business in 15 European countries, the "Chicago Town" trademark, and licences for the "Freschetta" and "Tony's" trademarks, for an undisclosed sum. The UK arm of Dr. Oetker is based at Thorpe Park in Leeds.

The deal follows hot on the heels of Dr. Oetker’s other recent acquisitions – the market-leading UK home baking brand, Supercook, in 2007, on which Cobbetts also advised; and the acquisition of the chilled yogurts and desserts branded business, Onken, in July 2004.

Dr. Oetker is a family business that is now in its fourth generation. The company launched its first frozen pizza range in Germany in 1970 and it now has a presence across Europe, Brazil and Canada.

The deal team at Cobbetts comprised partner, Mark Green, alongside director, Chris Tang, and assistant, Abbie Robinson. Susan Hall, partner specialising in intellectual property law, also advised on all issues related to trademarks and patents.

Peter Franks, UK managing director of the frozen and chilled division at Dr. Oetker, said: "Dr. Oetker is the biggest manufacturer of pizza in Europe and the addition of the Schwan European pizza portfolio is complementary to our current range of pizzas.

"We feel that the acquisition creates a complete frozen pizza business for us in the UK, giving us a firm presence in all sectors of the UK's frozen pizza market and providing us with our first UK production base."

Mark Green, partner at Cobbetts in Leeds, added: “This was a truly exciting deal to work on, particularly as the brands are household names in the UK. This transaction shows Cobbetts’ strength in capabilities and the trust it has built with its domestic and overseas clients in delivering a quality legal service. Each of the businesses acquired complements Dr. Oetker’s existing portfolio and we are confident that, with the company’s expertise and experience, these brands will quickly strengthen even further.”

Photo (L-R): Abbie Robinson (Cobbetts), Doris Abeln (Dr Oetker), Mark Green (Cobbetts), Peter Franks (Dr Oetker) and Chris Tang (Cobbetts).