Covington & Burling represented Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. in its agreement to acquire Oceana Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held global provider of gastroenterology and urology therapeutics, for $300 million in cash.

“The acquisition of Oceana expands our product portfolio of innovative products, furthers the diversification of Salix’s base business and provides immediate added revenue,” said Carolyn Logan, president and CEO of Salix. The transaction is expected to close in December 2011, subject to customary conditions of closing, including U.S. antitrust approval.

Salix, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, develops and markets prescription pharmaceutical products for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.

The Covington team, based in Washington, New York and London, was led by corporate partners Ed Britton and Catherine Dargan with associates James Wawrzyniak, Grant Young, and Caitlin Cottingham*. Also advising on the deal were Robert Heller and Sarah Burnham (tax), Michael Francese and Michael Chittenden (employee benefits), Heather Haberl (real estate), Scott Danzis, Chris Pruitt and Robin Blaney (food & drug), Natalie Derzko and Kathleen Gallagher-Duff (intellectual property), Marialuisa Gallozzi (insurance) and James Dean (antitrust).