Amgen Acquisition Of 95.6 % of shares in MN

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), the world’s largest biotechnology company, and Mustafa Nevzat Pharmaceuticals (MN) has announced an agreement under which Amgen will acquire 95.6 % of shares in MN, a privately held Turkish pharmaceutical company, for an amount that values MN at US $700 million. The all-cash transaction will significantly expand Amgen’s presence in Turkey and the surrounding region, which are large, fast-growing, priority markets for Amgen.With a heritage of nearly 90 years, MN is the leading supplier of pharmaceuticals to the hospital sector and a major supplier of injectable medicines in Turkey. It also has a successful and fast growing export business. MN had revenues of approximately US $200 million in 2011 and has grown on average at double-digit rates in local currency over the past five years.

The transaction has been approved by the Board of Directors of each company. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Amgen’s focus on Turkey and the surrounding region is part of a broad international expansion strategy for the Company. Amgen established an affiliate in Turkey in 2010 and currently markets two products, with plans to develop its robust pipeline of clinical candidates for the benefit of patients in Turkey, as well as other markets around the world.

Paksoy acted as the legal advisor for Amgen, Inc. on this deal. Serdar Paksoy (senior partner), Elvan Aziz (M&A partner) and Togan Turan (competition partner) led the team, they collectively commented: “This project concerned sale of a regulated company through a competitive bidding process. As the target was a company established over 50 years ago, size of the documents to be reviewed was substantial including nearly 1000 agreements. More than 10 lawyers were involved in the due diligence phase. As it was a competitive bidding process, the due diligence and SPA negotiations developed rather rapidly. Therefore, it was important for our client to work quickly and efficiently, which we have supported through our different departments including M&A, regulatory, employment, litigation, competition and tax.”