Akin Gump and Gleiss Lutz Advise Sistema JSFC on Joint Venture with Fresenius Kabi

(Moscow) – Akin Gump and Gleiss Lutz advised Sistema JSFC, the largest publicly traded diversified holding company in Russia and the CIS, on its joint venture with Fresenius Kabi, a German pharmaceutical company that is part of the global health care group Fresenius SE & Co KGaA, and Zenitco Finance Management LLC to establish a pharmaceuticals joint venture for operations in Russia and the CIS.

The joint venture will have its seat in Germany and will combine 100 percent of Binnopharm group, today held by Sistema and Zenitco, and 100 percent of Fresenius Kabi's Russian and CIS business. Fresenius Kabi will hold 51 percent in the new company, while Sistema and Zenitco will own 37 percent and 12 percent, respectively. The transaction is subject to the receipt of certain regulatory and antitrust approvals, including from the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Government Commission on Monitoring Foreign Investments.

Akin Gump and Gleiss Lutz provided Sistema with comprehensive advice on all aspects of the transaction. The team was led by Varun Gupta and Anthony Walker from Akin Gump in Moscow and Cornelia Topf and Martin Viciano-Gofferje from Gleiss Lutz.  Borenius (Pavel Savitsky) advised on Russian IP law, while the Gleiss Lutz team advised on tax, finance and European antitrust law as well as German IP law matters.

Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 850 attorneys in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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