DEALMAKERS at Ward Hadaway worked across four European jurisdictions in a transaction which has seen a Newcastle drugs company purchase three additional manufacturing plants.
Last month Aesica announced it had doubled in size after buying two German manufacturing plants and one Italian plant from Belgian biopharma firm UCB.
North East law firm Ward Hadaway provided legal advice to Aesica Pharmaceuticals on the acquisition, continuing a relationship which stretches back to Aesica’s purchase of Nottingham-based R5 Pharmaceuticals in June last year, and beyond.
Mike Spetch, partner in the corporate finance department at Ward Hadaway, led the firm’s team on the deal. He said: “We are delighted to have helped Aesica Pharmaceuticals with its first international acquisition. This is a significant move for the company and a demonstration of its ambition to grow the business on a global scale.
“It was vital that we were able to co-ordinate and deliver legal advice in four European jurisdictions to ensure that the challenging transaction timetable was met.
“We have advised Aesica on a number of previous transactions, including the acquisition of Nottingham-based R5 Pharmaceuticals in June 2010, so that inside knowledge of how the company operates was also crucial in ensuring that we delivered the right commercially-focused advice on this deal.”
Aesica chief executive Dr Robert Hardy said: “The acquisition of the three UCB manufacturing sites is strategically crucial for our business as we extend and enhance our current offering and establish a presence in Europe. Since Aesica was founded in 2004, we have worked continually to expand and strengthen our offering, supplying our international clients from our manufacturing sites in the UK, while striving to establish a presence in key global markets.
“To have now secured manufacturing sites in Europe, and on such a large scale, is testament to our commitment to ensuring Aesica is recognised as a leading player on the world stage.”
Aesica is one of the UK’s fastest growing companies, with annual revenues trebling in the space of five years to £90m.
December’s purchase – its first outside the UK – will double annual revenues and increase staff numbers from 700 to 1,300.
In the UK it employs 140 people at a manufacturing and research plant in Cramlington and around 25 staff at its Newcastle headquarters, which is expected to increase in the coming months.
Aesica was founded in 2004 through a management buyout of the former BASF site at Cramlington, backed by private equity firm LDC. Its main UK manufacturing pant is in Queenborough, Kent, and it recently announced plans to close a facility in North London with the loss of 50 jobs.
The deal for the UCB sites of Monheim and Zwickau in Germany and Pianezza in Italy is expected to be completed by the spring.
