Linklaters advises on USD 11.0 bn financing by Novartis of the acquisition of Avidity Biosciences

Linklaters has advised a global underwriting syndicate on a USD 11 billion SEC-registered bond issuance by Novartis under US law. The bonds were issued by Novartis Capital Corporation and are guaranteed by Swiss-based Novartis AG. Proceeds from the issuance will be used for general corporate purposes outside of Switzerland, including to repay outstanding borrowings under a USD 11 billion bridge loan on which Linklaters advised the administrative agent and lenders.

The bridge loan, incurred in February 2026, was used to finance Novartis’ USD 12 billion acquisition of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNA), a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company focused on a new class of therapeutics enabling RNA delivery to muscle. The global underwriting syndicate on the bond issuance consisted of Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Mizuho, as well as BofA Securities, HSBC, Societe Generale and UBS Investment Bank.

The international cross-practice Linklaters team was led by Marco Carbonare (Partner, Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt) and Kevin Roy (US Counsel, Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt) for the bond issuance and Danelle Le Cren (Partner, Banking, New York) for the bridge loan. Other team members included Jeffrey Cohen (Partner, Capital Markets, New York), Andres Loera (Counsel, Banking, New York), Omer Harel (US Counsel, Tax, London), Zila Acosta Grimes (Counsel, Financial Regulation, New York), Gert-Jan Hendrix (Counsel, Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations, Brussels), Alfredo Hwang (Senior Associate, Banking, New York), Allan Paul Talde (Senior Associate, Tax, New York), Justin Faulhaber, Alexander Gatlin and Marianna Troia (all US Associates, Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt). Rowina Ullner (Managing Associate, Capital Markets, Frankfurt), Vivian Meng (Associate, Banking, New York), Erika Jensen (Associate, Tax, New York) and Helena Obenheimer (Senior Transaction Lawyer, Capital Markets, Frankfurt).