Magic circle duo among elite law firm line-up on £10bn pharma deal
Top UK and US firms advise on GSK-Pfizer consumer health joint venture
December 19, 2018 at 06:56 AM
2 minute read
Magic circle duo Slaughter and May and Clifford Chance (CC) are acting opposite US firms Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Kirkland & Ellis on a £9.8bn transatlantic joint venture between pharma giants GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Pfizer.
The agreement will see the two public companies combine their consumer health businesses into a joint venture, with anticipated sales expected to be close to £10bn.
Under the agreement, GSK will retain a 68% controlling interest, while Pfizer will have an equity interest of 32%.
Slaughters' team advising GSK includes corporate partners David Johnson and Simon Nicholls, and tax partner Dominic Robertson. GSK's in-house team on the deal is being led by general counsel James Ford, associate GC Charles Atkinson, GSK Consumer Healthcare GC Sean Roberts and senior vice-president for legal corporate affairs and pharma supply chain Sarah Clements.
Kirkland & Ellis advised GSK on US aspects of the transaction, led by New York-based partner Daniel Wolf, who was supported by partners Eric Schiele, Claire James, Patrick Jacobs and David Fox, as well as tax partners Dean Shulman and Benjamin Schreiner.
Pfizer, meanwhile, turned to Wachtell corporate partners Edward Herlihy and David Lam and soon-to-be partner Jacob Kling, who received support on the UK aspects of the deal from CC corporate partners Gareth Camp and Simon Thomas, and New York-based partner Sarah Jones. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom also provided tax advice.
The deal is subject to shareholder and authority approvals, and is expected to complete in the second half of 2019.
During the course of three years, GSK plans to demerge and float the joint venture, which will see the company separate its consumer business from its pharmaceuticals and vaccines business.
The company is yet to choose a legal adviser for the subsequent demerger and float, according to an individual close to the deal.
Slaughters has taken on a number of big-ticket mandates for GSK in recent years, including advising on a $13bn (£9bn) deal that saw the company purchase a 36.5% stake in its consumer health joint venture with pharma giant Novartis. Clifford Chance is also a longstanding adviser to Pfizer.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Ashurst Beijing Chief Representative Leaves for New York Boutique Sterlington
Baker McKenzie, Norton Rose & Other Top Litigators Foresee Rise in AI, Data & ESG Disputes
Axiom-Ince: SFO Charges Five, Including Former Head, Following Investigation
3 minute read
SDT Upholds SLAPP Claim Against Osborne Clarke Partner Advising Nadhim Zahawi
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1For Safer Traffic Stops, Replace Paper Documents With ‘Contactless’ Tech
- 2As Second Trump Administration Approaches, Businesses Brace for Sweeping Changes to Immigration Policy
- 3General Warrants and ESI
- 4GC Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $7.4 Million From 3 Banks
- 5Authenticating Electronic Signatures
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
