The American group Procter & Gamble (P&G) sold its ethical pharmaceuticals unit to Warner Chilcott, an Irish laboratory which is primarily specialised in feminine health and skin care and listed on the NASDAQ. The transaction, which amounts to $3.1 billion, was signed on 24 August 2009 (the closing is expected later this year, pending regulatory approvals and other specific conditions). It will triple earnings for Warner Chilcott. This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, leveraged buy-out of 2009 financed by debt.
P&G ethical medicines, which notably include the Actonel osteoporosis treatment, earn $2.3 million annually. Most of the division's 2,300 employees should be transferred to Warner Chilcott.
Salans advised Warner Chilcott in France (Paris office), Germany (Berlin and Frankfurt offices) and Spain (Madrid office). François Vignaud and Jean-Marc Grosperrin, partners in the Paris office, coordinated the different teams.
- France: partners François Vignaud and Jean-Marc Grosperrin led the French team. They were in charge of M&A and Pharmaceutical law and assisted in these matters by associates Stéphane Jaffrain, Douglas Remillard, Maud Gendron, Sophie Pelé and Hélène Miller. The other groups involved were Corporate and Company law, with Thierry Renaud de la Faverie (partner) and Cécile Szymanski (associate); Employment law, with Katell Deniel-Allioux (partner) et Jean-François Rage (Of Counsel); Banking and Finance, with Philippe Max (partner) and Competition law, with Emmanuelle Van den Brouke (partner).
- Germany: partner Christof Kautzsch (M&A) led the German team which also included: Corporate/Company law, with counsels Daniel Barth, Sebastian Schmid and associates Astrid Pütz and Anna Dost; Employment, with counsel Michael Witteler and Britta Alscher (associate); Tax, with partners Stephan Busch and Hauke Thieme assisted by the associates Michael Seppelt and Markus Thewes; Pharmaceutical law, counsel Silke Dulle; Real Estate, counsel Detlef Spranger and Leander Palleit (associate); Public law, Ivana Mikešic (partner) and Boris Strauch (associate); Antitrust/Competition, with partner Jörg Karenfort assisted by associate Josef Hainz.
- Spain: partners José Maria Buxeda and Alejandro Alonso led the Spanish team (M&A, Corporate/Company Law, Competition Law and Pharmaceutical Law), assisted by the associates Íñigo Olarte, Elena García Herraiz and Marietta Herencias. The other lawyers involved were Tax, with partner Lourdes Pérez-Luque; and in Corporate/Company Law and Employment Law, partner Juan Ignacio Alonso assisted by Jordí Albós and Irma Cebrián.
Contacts
Paola Pozzi-Dazza, Marketing & Communication Manager
Tel: +33 1 42 68 92 72 - Fax: +33 1 42 68 70 60
E-mail: ppozzi@salans.com