Apollo funds acquire Covis Pharma from Cerberus
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Funds managed by affiliates of alternative investment manager Apollo Global Management have agreed to acquire pharmaceutical company Covis Pharma from an affiliate of alternative investment business Cerberus Capital Management.
The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Subject to antitrust approval, the transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2020.
Covis is focused on marketing and distributing branded products used to treat chronic and life-threatening medical issues and improve patient outcomes in various therapeutic areas including respiratory, cardiovascular, gastroenterology and central nervous system diseases.
Cerberus has more than $42 billion in assets in the areas of complementary credit, private equity, and real estate.
Samuel Feinstein, partner at Apollo, said, “We are excited to work closely with Covis Pharma’s proven leadership team as they continue to develop treatments that improve patients’ lives. We see significant opportunities ahead as we pursue our shared vision of providing innovative pharmaceutical products to an even broader market.”
Brett Ingersoll (pictured), president and chief investment officer of private equity at Cerberus, said: “Covis Pharma has been a great partnership for us. Since establishing the company in 2011, we have worked alongside the team to build a global specialty pharma business, supported by a strong operating platform, robust distribution model, and best-in-class management team.”
Rothschild & Co acted as financial advisor to Covis and Cerberus on the transaction. Barclays PLC acted as financial advisor to Apollo, while Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison acted as legal counsel to Apollo. The Paul, Weiss team included partners David Lakhdhir, Scott Sontag, Gregory Ezring, Brad Finkelstein, Claudine Meredith-Goujon and David Carmona, as well as counsel Bruce Goldberger.
Cerberus was advised by Dechert on the deal. The cross-border Dechert team spanned the firm’s North American and European offices and was led by corporate partners Mark Thierfelder, Gareth Clark and Christopher Field. The team included corporate associates Mark Evans, Barrett Schitka, Sarah Kupferman, Mihai Morar, Eddie Iqbal, Matthew Bernstein, Daniel Mansfield, Ivo Cavrak, Thomas Clarke, Anthony Frost, Rose Limaye, and Ruth Taylor; life sciences partner David Schulman; corporate/life sciences partner Robert Darwin; intellectual property partner Thomas Rayski and associates Noah Shier and Madeleine White; global finance partners John Markland, Scott Zimmerman, and Samantha Koplik and associate Zachary Goldberg; tax partner Steven Clemens and associate George Davis; employee benefits partner Eric Rubin and associates Sarah Burke and Michael Binko; labor partner Charles Wynn-Evans and counsel Jeffrey Rubin and associate Emma Byford; environmental partner Abbi Cohen; antitrust partner Rani Habash, national partner Laurence Bary, counsel Beverley Ang, and associate Michael Okkonen; anticorruption partner Darshak Dholakia and associate Hrishikesh Hari; real estate counsels Francois Quintard-Morenas and David Gervais and associate Freya Hocking; litigation partners Neil Steiner, Adam Silver, Michelle Bradfield and associates Adam Kidane, and Eleanor Pike.
