Allen & Overy advises private equity investor Bridgepoint and PharmaZell on entering into exclusive negotiations with Novasep to create technology-driven leader for complex small molecules and ADCs

PharmaZell, a leading pharmaceutical company and producer of highly resilient and specialty APIs, and Novasep, a leading CDMO focused on complex small molecules and ADCs aim to create a leading European platform in the attractive API manufacturing and CDMO space with a complementary set of differentiated technologies and highly diversified base of blue-chip pharma and biotech customers. Novasep is currently held by private equity investors Silver Point Capital and Blackrock. The combined business would generate nearly EUR500 million of revenues and employ close to 2,000 employees across seven production and R&D sites in Europe (Germany, France and Italy), two sites in India and one in the US.

The international Allen & Overy team comprised various jurisdictions. 

The M&A track was led by Marc Castagnede, Romy Richter (Paris), Nils Koffka (Hamburg) and Roman Kasten (Frankfurt). 

Financing advice for the transaction was provided by Robin Harvey, Nihaal Khanna and Daphne Morelle (all London).

Management participation program was advised by Marcus Mackensen (Hamburg, all Corporate/Private Equity).

Further advice was provided by the following specialists:

Corporate and commercial (APIs): Matthew Appleton (London); Jules Lecoeur, Pauline Regnier, Noemie Bomble, Emma Fata, Clemence D'Almeida, Faustine Piechaud, Antoine Messent, Neyla Fandi, Charles-Hugo Lerebour (all Paris); Adriana Worms, Eda Zhuleku, Linda Mayer, Hannah Wohlfarth (all Munich), Maximilian Steinhoff (Hamburg), Sarah-Jayne Mackin, Laura Campbell (both Belfast)

Merger control: Jürgen Schindler, Milosz Cywinski, Benjamin Geisel (all Brussels)

Foreign Investment Control: Udo Olgemöller, Stephan Bühner (both Frankfurt); Luc Lamblin (Paris), Kenneth Rivlin, Gideon Duke-Cohan, Pierce Young, Ernesto Alvarado (all US); Richard Qiang, Chaohui Liang (both Beijing)

Tax: Guillaume Valois (Paris) 

AIFM: Matt Huggett, Elizabeth Painter (both London)

Litigation: Gaspard Neuhoff, Guillaume Auzanneau (both Paris)

IP: Marianne Delassaussé (Paris), Anna Kräling (Düsseldorf)

Compliance: Matthew Townsend, Isabella Kelly (both London); Tim Müller, Jasmin Hense, Laura Jung (all Frankfurt); Julie Lombard-Veysset, Rebecca Harris (both Paris)

Employment: Olivier Picquerey, Sophie Lippmann, Camille Wattrelos, Hovig Cancioglu (all Paris); Sebastian Schulz, Lisa Wantzen (both Frankfurt) 

Data protection: Catharina Glugla (Düsseldorf)

Environmental: Arthur Sauzay, Gabrielle Nivet (both Paris); Stefanie Günther (Frankfurt)

Real Estate: Pierre De Hua Soen (Paris); Hauke Jung (Hamburg)