GvW advises Sartorius on Chinese-law aspects of acquisition of Polyplus

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the life science group Sartorius AG ("Sartorius"), on Chinese-law aspects of the acquisition of Polyplus for approximately 2.4 billion euros from private investors including ARCHIMED and WP GG Holdings IV B.V., an affiliate of Warburg Pincus. Milbank LLP has acted as legal lead counsel to Sartorius in this transaction.

Polyplus, with around 270 employees, develops and produces transfection as well as other DNA/RNA delivery reagents and plasmid DNA in high quality and at GMP grade. These are key components in the production of viral vectors used in cell and gene therapies and other advanced medicinal therapeutic products. Recording significant growth rates, Polyplus is expected to generate sales revenue in the upper double-digit million-euro range and a very substantial EBITDA margin in 2023.

The proposed transaction is subject to customary conditions, including completion of the information and consultation of the works’ council and approval by regulatory authorities and is expected to close during the third quarter of 2023.

The Sartorius Group is a leading international partner of life sciences research and the biopharmaceutical industry. The company, based in Goettingen, Germany, has a strong global reach with around 60 production and sales sites worldwide. In fiscal year 2022, the company generated sales revenue of approximately 4.2 billion euros. At the end of 2022, around 16,000 employees were working for customers across the globe.

The GvW team was led by partner Dr Dominic Köstner and included the associates Huanlei Yan, Yingci Geng, und Hongyu Chen (all Corporate/M&A, Shanghai).