Legal Business

Pharma just the tonic for US firms leading on Boston Scientific’s £3bn bid for BTG

An array of City and US firms have landed roles advising on Boston Scientific’s buyout of British healthcare firm BTG in the latest bumper deal in the pharmaceutical sector. Allen & Overy (A&O), Shearman & Sterling, Travers Smith, White & Case, and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer were all called upon to advise on the deal, continuing a spate of takeovers in the UK healthcare market.

Shearman acted as lead counsel for longstanding client Boston Scientific, with a team headed by New York corporate partner Clare O’Brien alongside London-based veteran Europe and Middle East M&A head Laurence Levy. City firm Travers worked alongside Shearman, with partner Mahesh Varia advising on share option schemes, while Arnold & Porter Washington DC antitrust partner Michael Bernstein was also drafted in by Boston Scientific.

‘It was a relatively quick deal, so it required a few late nights to get it over the line,’ Levy told Legal Business. ‘In years gone by this deal would be considered significant in showing how a small number of US players are competing with the London firms for big mandates, but that’s been the case for a number of years.’

‘It was a relatively quick deal, so it required a few late nights to get it over the line.’
Laurence Levy, Shearman & Sterling

A&O fielded a team headed by corporate partner Richard Browne to advise BTG on the takeover, supported by partners Matthew Appleton, Paul McCarthy, Alasdair Balfour and Elaine Johnston. Meanwhile, White & Case partners Patrick Sarch, Philip Broke and Ben Wilkinson advised the lender, Barclays. Completion of the deal is contingent on regulatory approval, but is expected to close in mid-2019.

The pharma sector continues to provide a stream of lucrative work for the global elite, with Slaughter and May, Linklaters and Davis Polk & Wardwell all featuring in Japanese giant Takeda’s takeover of Irish pharma rival Shire earlier this year. The City elite also advised in the $13bn transaction that saw GlaxoSmithKline acquire the remaining stake in its consumer healthcare joint venture with Novartis.

thomas.alan@legalease.co.uk