Pinsent Masons advised UDG Healthcare plc on its acquisition of STEM Marketing Limited for a total consideration of up to £84 million (about $134.76 million).
The Pinsent Masons team was led by corporate partner Helen Ridge supported by Alasdair Weir and Rob Cunningham, Jon Robinson and Louise Fullwood.
UDG – a provider of clinical, commercial, communication and packaging services to the healthcare industry – is acting on its global growth strategy to expand its market positions providing services to the pharmaceutical sector.
The acquisition also significantly expands the service offering and capabilities of UDG’s Ashfield Commercial and Medical division and complements its Ashfield Healthcare Communications division’s global offering, Pinsent Masons said.
Dublin-based UDG – a FTSE 250 company, has 7,000 employees at operations across 20 countries including the US, UK, Ireland and Germany. STEM Marketing is the leading global provider of commercial, marketing and medical audits to pharmaceutical companies across 35 countries.
“We are delighted to have worked with long standing client UDG Healthcare on yet another acquisition. As this sector of the pharmaceuticals industry continues to develop at rapid pace, companies such as UDG are at the forefront of market leading innovation,” lead partner Helen Ridge, Manchester office head at Pinsent Masons, said.
UDG’s Robert O’Beirn commented: “We are grateful to Pinsent Masons for their support on this strategic acquisition. Helen and her team have worked with us on a number of M&A transactions in the past including on the transformational disposal of our supply chain services business which completed earlier this year having received regulatory approvals.”
“They have built up a strong understanding of our business model and been with us over a number of years as our strategic direction has been to become a focused international healthcare services business. This understanding, together with their drive and focus to get deals done, and their expertise in the healthcare services sector, makes them trusted advisers,” added the UDG corporate development director.
Brendan McAtamney, chief executive of UDG Healthcare, said: “STEM is an excellent strategic fit for UDG and is wholly aligned with our global growth strategy of expanding our market leading positions providing services to the pharmaceutical sector.”
Related stories:
More major public M&A deals in FY16 – study
Law firms involved in the $47bn acquisition of NXP by Qualcomm
