Riker Danzig has acted as lead deal counsel for Nexsus Management LLC, a recently formed Morristown company with operations also in Ecuador, in a cross-border cocoa industry joint venture with Goddard Enterprises Ltd.
Goddard, a multi-product and multi-service group of businesses based in Barbados, recently entered the cocoa business by forming Ecuakao Group Ltd., a Cayman Islands company, and acquiring a cocoa processing facility in Guayaquil, Ecuador. As part of that transaction, Ecuakao retained Nexsus to provide it and its subsidiaries, including a cocoa trading company in Uruguay, with management services, sales representation, logistics management, operational compliance services, financial services and technological support. In addition to receiving management fees, Nexsus holds an equity stake in Ecuakao, and Goddard will receive equity in Nexsus as well.
Riker Danzig partner Jason Navarino led the Riker team on this transaction which included partner Ronald Leibman and associates Michael LaTempa and Hannah Greendyk, with partner Robert Schoenberg advising on intellectual property matters. Jason noted that this deal “will allow Nexsus to implement its vision of providing efficient, technology-driven management solutions for cocoa industry participants, starting with the cocoa bean farmers in developing countries.” He said, “Nexsus hopes to transform the cocoa industry through its pioneering sustainability initiatives, and Riker Danzig is pleased to support Nexsus in achieving this goal.”
