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CMS advises Advent on €1.9 billion acquisition of Zentiva

4 October 2018

CMS advised Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, on the CEE and Swiss aspects of the acquisition (and financing thereof) of Zentiva, Sanofi’s European generics business, for €1.9 billion, which completed on 30 September 2018.

Zentiva, headquartered in Prague, has operations throughout Europe. The CMS team worked across the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Switzerland where CMS has long-standing presence, providing local expertise added value to the transaction, from the initial due diligence, to the various local restructurings required to effect the pre-completion carve-out and assistance on the financing aspects.

Advent is a global investor, with over 25 years’ experience of investing in the healthcare sector. It has extensive experience of executing corporate carve-outs and leveraging this expertise will support Zentiva as it enters a new phase of its history as an independent business.

The CMS team advising Advent was coordinated by co-head of international private equity, Advent relationship partner and pharma specialist David Butts, finance partner Ana Radnev and Corporate/PE senior associate Valentina Santambrogio and comprised Lucie Halloova (Czech Republic), Cristina Reichmann and Raluca Ionescu (Romania), Petra Corba-Stark (Slovakia), Olga Czyzycka (Poland), Péter Toth (Hungary), Pascal Favre and Georges Fokiades (Switzerland), Jan Deset, Maria Tomescu, Sandra Constantin, Pavla Kreckova and Barbora Sevcikova (cross-border financing).

Freshfields advised Advent on the overall transaction, while Kirkland & Ellis led on the financing.