February 7, 2020
Willkie advised Ardian on the sale of the Riemser Group to an affiliate of Esteve.
On January 8, Willkie client Ardian, an independent French private equity company, announced that it has signed an agreement on selling the Riemser Group, a specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Germany with subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France, and Spain to an affiliate of Corporatión Quimico- Farmacéutica Esteve S.A. (Esteve), an international pharmaceutical company headquartered in Barcelona.
Headquartered in Greifswald and Berlin, Germany, Riemser sells, licenses, markets and distributes pharmaceutical products. The company has subsidiaries in Great Britain, France and Spain, and an international distribution network across more than 50 countries. Founded in 1929, Esteve is a leading Spanish pharmaceutical company with a presence in Europe, the United States, Mexico, and China. In 2018, it achieved a turnover of €758 million. Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of $96 billion managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia.
Willkie previously advised Ardian in 2012 in the acquisition of the Riemser Group from the founder family and several minority stakeholders. Willkie has worked with Ardian and Riemser Management on several other acquisitions and divestures, most recently in April 2018 in connection with the acquisition of the exclusive development and marketing rights for the non-opioid pain therapy product Prialt.
The Willkie team was led by partner Dr. Maximilian Schwab and included partners Dr. Bettina Bokeloh, Jan Wilms and Susanne Zühlke, special European counsel Wolfgang Münchow and associate Miriam Steets.
