Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Hogan Lovells are helping Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis undergo a massive restructuring involving a series of transactions worth more than $20 billion. The move will see the company boost its oncology portfolio while shedding some of its underperforming assets.
The transactions include a joint venture with fellow pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. Novartis has agreed to pay up to $16 billion for an oncology business from GSK, which will then buy most of Novartis’ vaccines portfolio for as much as $7.1 billion, while the two companies will also combine their consumer health care businesses. Novartis is also selling its animal health business to Eli Lilly and Company for roughly $5.4 billion.
