Hogan Lovells advising AmerisourceBergen Corporation on its US$6.47 billion acquisition of Alliance Healthcare from Walgreens Boots Alliance

International law firm Hogan Lovells is, together with New York law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, advising NYSE-listed firm AmerisourceBergen Corporation on its US$6.47 billion acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.’s Alliance Healthcare wholesale distribution business in Europe, together with specified pre-wholesale and other services, as well as retail pharmacy operations in Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway. The acquisition, once completed, will make AmerisourceBergen Corporation a global leader in pharmaceutical distribution and services.

The acquisition is structured as a share sale and the purchase price will be satisfied by US$6.275 billion in cash and two million shares of AmerisourceBergen Corporation (“ABC”) common stock. As part of the transaction, ABC and Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will extend their existing distribution and partnership agreement for an additional three years through 2029 and Alliance Healthcare and Boots UK will enter into a new exclusive distribution agreement pursuant to which Alliance Healthcare will continue to supply products to the Boots retail business in the UK.  The transaction is due to complete in mid-2021 following regulatory approvals being received in Europe and the United States.

The Hogan Lovells team was led by corporate partners Daniel Simons and Peter Watts, senior associate Anthony Doolittle [corporate], partner Ed Fishman [regulatory and compliance] and partner Suyong Kim [antitrust].  The transaction involved Hogan Lovells teams in China, France, Italy, London, The Netherlands, Spain and the United States across a variety of practice areas including antibribery & regulatory compliance, antitrust, corporate, data protection, employment, employee share schemes, IP, IT, pharmaceuticals & biotechnology, pensions, real estate and tax.

Commenting on the deal, partner Daniel Simons said: “It has been a privilege to work with the fantastic AmerisourceBergen team again and a pleasure to work alongside the excellent Cravath team on this groundbreaking transaction. The transaction further demonstrates the breadth and depth of our global practice and showcases our ability as a firm to execute cross-border transactions in highly regulated industries.”