DORDA, under the lead of Martin Brodey, advised Novo Holdings A/S, the holding and investment entity of the Danish Novo Nordisk Foundation, on the acquisition of a majority stake in the Austrian company Single Use Support GmbH, a provider of modern technology solutions for the pharmaceutical production process.
With the acquisition of a majority of around 60% of the shares in Single Use Support GmbH, which is still subject to antitrust approval, Novo Holdings A/S is expanding its rapidly growing Life Science Tools & Diagnostics portfolio, thus gaining a foothold in the DACH region, an important center for life sciences. DORDA's advisory services, in cooperation with the Danish law firm Kromann Reumert and the US law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, covered all relevant aspects of the transaction, including the drafting and negotiation of the share purchase agreement and other contractual documents as well as the legal due diligence.
The DORDA transaction team consisted of Martin Brodey (Partner, M&A), Bernhard Rieder (Partner, Corporate), Patricia Backhausen (Principal Associate, M&A) and Aleksandra Hübl-Langer (Associate, M&A). The financing part of the transaction was supported by Tibor Varga (Partner, Finance). Heinrich Kühnert (Partner, Antitrust Law) and Mirko Marjanovic (Associate, Antitrust Law) were responsible for the Austrian part of the antitrust aspects of the transaction under the lead of Linklaters.
"We are very pleased to be able to support Novo Holdings in expanding its portfolio to Austria. The transaction is reportedly not only one of the largest deals in the Austrian start-up scene to date, but also demonstrates which outstanding companies are developed in Austria that are capable of attracting international attention.”, summarizes Martin Brodey.
Novo Holdings is a holding and investment company that is responsible for managing the assets and the wealth of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The purpose of Novo Holdings is to improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet by generating attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novo Holdings is the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk A/S and Novonesis A/S (formerly Novozymes A/S) and manages an investment portfolio with a long-term return perspective. In addition to managing a broad portfolio of equities, bonds, real estate, infrastructure and private equity assets, Novo Holdings is a world-leading life sciences investor. Through its Seeds, Venture, Growth, Asia, Bioindustrial and Principal Investments teams, Novo Holdings invests in life science companies at all stages of development. As of year-end 2023, Novo Holdings had total assets of EUR 149 billion.
Established in Denmark in 1924, the Novo Nordisk Foundation is an enterprise foundation with philanthropic objectives. The vision of the Foundation is to improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet. The Foundation’s mission is to progress research and innovation in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic and infectious diseases as well as to advance knowledge and solutions to support a green transformation of society.
Single Use Support GmbH, founded in 2017 by Johannes Kirchmair and Thomas Wurm, offers innovative liquid management products and services related to single-use technologies for the pharmaceutical industry. The company, which focuses on solutions for biologics, cell and gene therapies and mRNA vaccines, counts leading pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms and CDMOs among its customers. Single Use Support GmbH is based in Kufstein, Austria and has a subsidiary in the USA. It also operates worldwide and has a dense network of distributors and partners.
Also advising on the transaction were: Bernhard Müller (Partner, Public Law), Magdalena Brandstetter (Partner, Real Estate and Construction Law), Francine Brogyányi (Partner, Health & Life Science), Andreas Seling (Partner, IP), Christian Ritschka (Partner, M&A), Nino Tlapak (Partner, IT/Data Protection), Veit Öhlberger (Partner, Trade Law), Alexandra Ciarnau (Principal Associate, IP/IT/Data Protection), Safiye Ünüvar (Principal Associate, Financing), Lorenz Wicho (Principal Associate, Public Law), Magdalena Nitsche (Counsel, Insurance), Florina Thenmayer (Principal Associate, Employment), Georg Durstberger (Principal Associate, Corporate), Julia Landskron (Principal Associate, Corporate), Clemens Burian-Kerbl (Principal Associate, Corporate), Stefanie Dirnbauer (Associate, IP/IT/Data Protection), Valentina Possegger (Associate, Employment), Philipp Proske (Associate, Real Estate and Construction Law), Noah Hofer (Associate, Public Law), Sarah Gruber (Associate, Insurance), Laura Colloredo-Mannsfeld (Associate, Health & Life Science), Felix Zopf (Associate, IP/IT/Data Protection) and Silvia Hanschur (Associate, IP/IT/Data Protection).