Lehman Brothers is advising US food group Heinz on a deal in Europe for the first time thanks to the bank's eight hires from Flemings in the summer.

The bank's consumer team is acting for Heinz on its acquisition of the Dutch food group CSM's grocery products unit. The deal is said to be worth around €450m ($380m), although the figure will not be officially disclosed until it has been discussed with CSM's workers' council. It will be Heinz's biggest acquisition outside the US once it is completed, probably in the spring of 2001.