AstraZeneca acquisition of Alexion – A&O advising the lenders on USD17.5 bn bridge-financing facility
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Ben Davies
Senior Media Relations Manager
London
16 December 2020
Allen & Overy acted as advisers to the group of lenders providing the bridge-financing facility intended to cover the cash portion and associated costs of the USD39 billion acquisition of Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Alexion) by AstraZeneca, which was announced on 12 December 2020.
The USD17.5 billion committed bridge-financing facility, provided by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, is one of the largest acquisition financings arranged during 2020 and supports what will be the year’s largest acquisition of a US company. The facility is available for an initial term of 12 months from the date of completion of the acquisition, or 12 December 2021 (whichever date is earlier), with up to two six-month extensions available at the discretion of AstraZeneca.
Greg Brown, an Allen & Overy banking partner based in London, commented: “For many reasons these are challenging times to be raising acquisition finance, so we are glad to have been able to provide support to our clients on such a large and significant deal."
We specialise in the largest deals and those which are first-of-a-kind, but in this case it feels particularly satisfying to have helped arrange the financing for an acquisition that will ultimately deliver benefits to society more generally through medical research and greater access to new medicines.
Greg Brown, Partner
The A&O team was led by banking partner Greg Brown, supported by senior associate Dominique Crowley and associate Ashley Ken (in London); and partner Elizabeth Leckie, consulting lawyer Livia Talenti and associate Penelope Yan (in New York).