International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised on the sale of global pharmaceutical company Nycomed to Takeda, the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan.
The deal which sees Freshfields advise a PE consortium led by Nordic Capital and Credit Suisse as well as Nycomed, represents the largest European private equity deal since before the global financial crisis.
This transformational transaction is a strategic fit with Takeda’s growth strategy as Takeda has its strong presence in the Japanese and U.S. markets, while Nycomed has a significant business infrastructure in Europe and high-growth emerging markets that will enhance Takeda’s regulatory development expertise and commercialization capability.
The international Freshfields team advising on the deal, was led by Julian Long, a London corporate partner and global co-head of the firm’s healthcare sector group; London private equity partner David Sonter and London corporate senior associate Sam Newhouse. It included partners Jennifer Bethlehem (London, Corporate), Andrea Gomes da Silva (London, Competition), Geoff Nicholas (London, DR), David Onorato (New York, DR), Charles Peet (New York, Finance), Matthew Herman (New York, Corporate), Colin Hargreaves (London, Tax), Norbert Schneider (Cologne, Tax) and Takeshi Nakao (Tokyo, Corporate). They were supported by associates Giles Rowbotham, Joao Busin, Robert Henry, Koser Shaheen, Gareth Carter and Francesco Leonetti (all London Corporate), Stephen Williams and Sophia Real (London, Competition), Peter Clements (London, Tax), Wiebke Hinz (Cologne, Tax) Simon Little (New York, Corporate) and Natascha Doll (Hamburg, Corporate).
Commenting on the transaction, Julian Long, global co-head of the firm’s healthcare sector group said: ‘This transaction represents the largest European private equity deal since KKR’s acquisition of Alliance Boots in 2007 and the largest cross-border acquisition by a Japanese company in recent years.’
‘The deal is symptomatic of three main trends we are seeing in this space – an increasing corporate appetite for expansion and growth in emerging markets, particularly Russia, Brazil and China; the growing attractiveness of European M&A for Asian and US companies and increasing M&A in the Healthcare sector, including disposals by private equity houses.’
London private equity partner David Sonter added: ‘We are delighted to have been chosen to work on this deal which was the result of our acknowledged expertise and reputation for executing large and complex international M&A, our strong record in advising private equity investors and our deep healthcare sector knowledge. Our team of over 50 lawyers from London, New York, Japan, Germany, Russia, The Netherlands and Saudi worked together with the Nycomed legal team led by Michael Kuner and law firms in a number of other countries to deliver what is without doubt a great result for the private equity owners of Nycomed and yet another example how well companies can develop under PE ownership’.
