Jiménez Peña (JP) advised Unilever in the structuring of a distribution relationship between Unilever Caribe and César Iglesias. Unilever is one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies with presence in more than 190 countries, and over 400 brands. This agreement with César Iglesias, a Dominican company dedicated to the manufacture and marketing of mass consumption products in the areas of cleaning, personal care and food, which has over 2,000 employees and 21 factories, covers third-party logistics, commercial operations, and distribution of 20 Unilever brands, ranging from food products to home and personal care products.

Through this strategic alliance, Unilever and César Iglesias join forces for business development in the Dominican Republic, while implementing a more efficient and sustainable supply chain for the benefit of its consumers and costumers, combining the distribution strength of César Iglesias with Unilever’s portfolio of brands with Personal Care products such as Dove, Suave, Tresemmé, Rexona and Axe, among others. Due to the presence of both parties in the Dominican Republic, this is one of the largest distribution and logistics deals that have taken place in recent years.

JP’s scope of work included the negotiation, structuring, and closing of all transaction agreements as well as risk management, including contractual, regulatory, competition, and tax issues. JP continued to act as counsel for Unilever in all post-closing matters, handling the legal termination of and transition from the multiple existing distributors to César Iglesias, as well as the transfer of logistics and commercial operations to the new distributor.

The JP team was formed by Marcos Peña (Partner), Vilma Veras (Partner), Henry Pastrano (Senior Associate), and Ricardo González (Associate).