Overview
International law firm McDermott Will & Emery represented funds advised by AUCTUS Capital Partners AG as well as PharmaLex Holding GmbH on the sale of PharmaLex Group to NYSE-listed Amerisource Bergen Corporation. The cash purchase price amounts to €1.28 billion. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and its completion is expected by March 2023.
The PharmaLex Group, headquartered in Germany and with numerous subsidiaries worldwide, provides scientific, regulatory and strategic advisory services to pharmaceutical companies. This includes support in the clinical development up to the marketing authorization of medicinal products and in ensuring the safety of medicinal products (pharmacovigilance) after market entry. PharmaLex thus enables its clients to market their medicinal products worldwide in accordance with local regulatory requirements under their respective market conditions. Many of PharmaLex’s consulting services are technology-based. The company employs experts in the fields of science, regulation, safety and compliance (GxP), many of whom had previously owned their own consulting companies which they subsequently sold to PharmaLex. Earlier this year, PharmaLex acquired Phlexglobal, a technology platform in the UK.
The international McDermott team was jointly led by the Firm’s Munich-based lawyers, Dr Stephan Rau, Dr Germar Enders and Dr Nadine Hartung. Stephan Rau has been the lead advisor to PharmaLex and its shareholder AUCTUS on numerous acquisitions since 2015, in particular in connection with acquisitions in the US where he has been able to draw on McDermott’s market-leading capabilities in life sciences and health. The acquisition of Phlexgobal was advised by McDermott London team led by partners Eleanor West and Sharon Lamb.
Advisors AUCTUS Capital Partners AG and PharmaLex Holding GmbH:
McDermott Will & Emery (Munich): Dr Stephan Rau (M&A/Private Equity/Healthcare Regulatory), Dr Germar Enders (Counsel) and Dr Nadine Hartung (both Corporate/M&A/Private Equity, all Lead). Dr Deniz Tschammler (Commercial/Regulatory/Compliance), Dr Monika Richter (Counsel, Commercial, both Frankfurt), Jana Grieb (Counsel, Healthcare Regulatory/Compliance), Dr Gudrun Germakowski (Labour Law, Düsseldorf), Steffen Woitz (IP/IT), Eleanor West (Corporate/M&A), Sharon Lamb (Healthcare Regulatory, both London), Diego Gómez-Cornejo (Corporate/M&A, Dallas); Associates: Dr Robert Feind, Sebastian Gerstner, Matthias Weingut (all Corporate/M&A), Sylvia Petereit-Kemter, Dr. Lea Hachmeister (Frankfurt; both Healthcare Regulatory/Compliance), Markus Cejka (Finance, Frankfurt), Ilva Woeste (Labour Law), Heloise Waudby (Corporate/M&A, London), Elaine Kao (Corporate/M&A, Dallas)
Further advisors to AUCTUS/PharmaLex: Noerr, Emnay
About McDermott
McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices, industries and more than 20 locations to deliver highly effective—and often unexpected—solutions that propel success. More than 1,200 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.
