Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) and Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: APLS) announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Biogen has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Apellis for $41.00 per share in cash at closing, or approximately $5.6 billion. Apellis stockholders will also receive a nontransferable CVR for each Apellis share held, entitling the holder to receive two payments of $2 per share each, contingent on certain annual global net sales thresholds being met for SYFOVRE®. The addition of Apellis, a leader in advancing treatments for serious, complement-driven diseases, is expected to enhance Biogen’s short- and long-term revenue growth profile by adding two commercialized, differentiated immunology and rare disease medicines to its growth portfolio.
WilmerHale has represented Apellis since 2010 and acted as co-counsel to the company in the transaction.
The WilmerHale team was led by Hal Leibowitz, Andrew Bonnes, Stuart Falber and Jeffries Oliver-Li, and included partners Meghan Walsh, Fred Adam, Ciara Baker, Kirk Nahra, Bruce Manheim, Andrew Stauber, Molly Fox, Scott Lunin, Hartmut Schneider, and Steven Barrett, as well as Katherine Patterson, Jeannette Boot, Karen Velez, Jaclyn Schofield, and Skyler Dykes.