Sale of a leading player operating in the animal health sector   

The Corporate and Commercial team at Wilson Browne Solicitors recently advised the selling shareholders in the sale of the entire issued share capital of a group of companies operating in the animal health sector, for an undisclosed sum.

The transaction was complicated by the requirement for a part of the business (of the group) not required by the buyer to be demerged and extracted into the ownership and control of the selling shareholders as a pre-completion step. This element of the overall transaction was a complex multi-stage process designed to ensure that the demerger and extraction was fully compliant from both a legal and regulatory perspective, and also that all required tax-related considerations and requirements were addressed.

A further challenge involved the necessity for the transaction to be approved by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) following an exchange of contracts as a pre-condition to completion taking place.

In addition to the corporate aspects of the transaction, the advice given also involved the commercial property and employment teams at Wilson Browne both in relation to the preliminary demerger and also the main transaction itself.

The team at Wilson Browne also worked closely with the accountants, corporate finance and other advisors to the shareholders concerned to ensure that the transaction was completed smoothly and in the most tax-efficient manner.

The transaction was led by Duncan Crowther, a Partner in the Corporate and Commercial team at Wilson Browne, who commented:

We were delighted to have been selected to advise in this transaction and to have achieved all of the required outcomes for the clients concerned. It was particularly satisfying to see the seamless interaction between the various different teams within the firm, which is a real testament to the strength and depth of the commercial legal services offering of Wilson Browne. The firm’s ability to provide a complete full service offering on a regional basis really helps with the efficient completion of complex transactions such as this and makes the whole process as smooth and stress-free as possible for the clients concerned.

The Corporate and Commercial team at Wilson Browne is nationally recognised in the Legal500 and regularly advises clients on a wide range of corporate transactions, including business and company sales and acquisitions, management buyouts, company restructuring, corporate governance, franchising, intellectual property protection and commercial contracts.