Linklaters & Baker McKenzie advise on Fresenius acquisition of mAbxience

Linklaters has advised Fresenius on the acquisition of mAbxience, who were advised by Baker McKenzie

Fresenius Kabi has agreed to acquire a stake of 55% of mAbxience Holding,  a biopharmaceutical company, focused on the developing biosimilars market.

The purchase price will be a combination of €495 million upfront payment and milestone payments, strictly tied to the achievement of commercial and development targets.

The contractual provisions also include a put / call option scheme regarding the current owners’ remaining shares in mAbxience (45%). The acquisition of a majority stake in mAbxience follows Fresenius Kabi’s recently unveiled Vision 2026 strategy, delivering on one of the core growth vectors – to “Broaden Biopharma” – by expanding along the value chain and further enhancing the existing Fresenius Kabi biosimilars pipeline. Once completed, the transaction is expected to deliver material operating and cost synergies for Fresenius Kabi, primarily driven by leveraging mAbxience’s manufacturing capabilities for Fresenius Kabi’s existing biosimilars business.

The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close by mid-2022.

Linklaters advised Fresenius Kabi with a team composed by Alexander Kolb (pictured), Alberto Vilalta, José Buigues and Andrea Garcia (for corporate matters); Ceyhun Pehlivan and Eduardo Novella (for IP), Juan Passás and Diana Martínez (for competition), Sergio García public law; Moira Guitart and Leticia Ramos (employment), Alejandro Meca and Álvaro Albiñana (tax). Linklaters acted in Germany with Ralph Wollburg (partner), Arne Kießling (counsel) and Sebastian Klingen (counsel) for corporate matters and with Julian Böhmer (counsel) for tax.

Baker McKenzie advised the sellers Insud Pharma and Invim Corporativo throughout the transaction. The team from Bakers included Maite Diez (pictured right) (partner), Carlos Jiménez de Laiglesia (team director), Elena Piquero (associate), Manuel Alonso partner (tax) and Paloma Martínez-Lage partner (competition).