LONDON, January 26, 2015 – Global law firm Morgan Lewis acted as M&A counsel to entrepreneurs Amit and Meeta Patel, on the sale of Auden Mckenzie Holdings Ltd to Actavis plc (NYSE: ACT) for £306 million. The deal was announced on January 26, 2015 and will make Actavis the number one supplier of generic pharmaceuticals in the UK.
Under the terms of the agreement, Actavis will pay approximately £306 million in cash, plus a two-year royalty on a percentage of gross profits of one of Auden Mckenzie’s products. The acquisition is subject to certain conditions, including approval by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015.
Founded in 2001 and based in Ruislip, Middlesex, Auden Mckenzie specialises in the development, licensing and marketing of niche generic medicines and proprietary brands. The company holds over 120 pharmaceutical product licenses and sells in 30 countries.
The Morgan Lewis team was led by London Corporate partners Tom Cartwright and Iain Wright, with support from associates Alex Leuba and Sonia Namutebi, Competition partners Izzet Sinan and Frances Murphy, Tax partner Kate Habershon with associate Katerina Heal, Employment senior associate Lee Harding and Washington DC based IP partner James Sims. Latham & Watkins served as legal counsel to Actavis.
Commenting on the deal, partner Tom Cartwright said: “We are delighted to have worked with Amit and Meeta on this significant deal.”
He added: “The deal follows a series of major transactions by the firm’s market leading global Life Sciences practice including advising Merck’s US$14.2bn sale of its consumer care business to Bayer and Auxilium Pharmaceuticals’ US$2.6bn sale to Endo International. The London office has seen a significant uptick in corporate and M&A transactions in recent months.”
Morgan Lewis’s global Life Sciences practice comprises more than 200 partners and counsel located in the United States and Europe, serving over 1100 clients throughout the complete product life cycle and in all facets of the industry.