In contrast to the fluctuating global M&A market, the life sciences and health tech industry saw a significant uptick in deal-making throughout 2023, showcasing remarkable resilience and growth.
2.5.2024
Strong momentum in life sciences and health tech industry: Castrén & Snellman sees a significant uptick in deal-making
Karlo Siirala, Hanna Paloheimo, Sakari Lukinmaa, Tero Tuomisto & Antti Kaakkola
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Despite initial setbacks due to the pandemic, the sector has witnessed a resurgence in mergers and acquisitions, and investments from both private equity and venture capital firms.
Notably, landmark transactions like Novo Nordisk’s USD 16.5 billion acquisition of Catalent and Pfizer’s USD 43 billion merger with Seagen underscore the magnitude and momentum of deal activity within the industry.
Castrén & Snellman’s recent transactional work vividly reflects this heightened industry activity. In 2023 and 2024, our firm has been deeply immersed in facilitating mergers and acquisitions, securing funding and refinancing and supporting manufacturing projects for innovative companies, investors and entrepreneurs in the health tech and life sciences sphere.
Our recent cases showcase Castrén & Snellman’s expertise in navigating complex legal matters within the life sciences and health tech industry:
- Advising Mérieux Equity Partners’ leveraged buyout of Labquality, a Nordic player specialised in EQA, CRO activities and regulatory affairs, with a strong local presence in Central and Eastern Europe
- Advising BYG4Lab and Keensight Capital on BYG4Lab’s acquisition of Finbiosoft, an innovative software company founded in 2011 with a mission to help laboratories reach higher quality and better efficiency
- Advising Keensight Capital, a leading growth buyout investor, on the Finnish legal aspects of the combination of Biovian and 3P Biopharmaceuticals, two leading biologics contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) backed by Keensight Capital, to establish 3PBIOVIAN, a new pan-European leader in its field
- Advising DigiTx Partners, a venture capital firm specialised in the digital health space, on the USD 10 million series A funding round of CardioSignal, the developer of the first technology to detect major heart diseases without specialised medical hardware
- Advising Inventure, Tesi and Presidio Ventures on the EUR 13.7 million series A funding round of Algorithmiq, a growth company developing quantum computing algorithms and solutions for drug development and discovery
- Advising Biovian, a globally operating GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) of biopharmaceuticals, on its EUR 50 million manufacturing facility project in Turku, Finland
- Advising Biovian on the debt refinancing initiative and new funding package with Eurazeo to support organic growth and GeneCity facility expansion
- Advising Voisin Consulting Life Sciences on the acquisition of MedEngine, a leading medical science agency in the Nordics.
With favourable economic conditions driving acquisitions, continued interest from private equity and venture capital firms, and the strategic importance of acquisitions for fostering growth, we anticipate continued vibrancy in the industry through the remainder of 2024. In addition, advancements in technology and innovation within the industry are expected to fuel further investment and transactional activity.
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We supported byFounders.vc as the Finnish counsel in their investment in DataCrunch Oy in a USD 64 million Series A funding round. DataCrunch provides scalable AI compute solutions from energy-efficient data centers in Iceland and Finland. byFounders.vc is the community-powered early-stage venture fund investing in globally ambitious teams connected to the Nordic and Baltic countries.
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We advised Springvest Oyj in organising a EUR 45 million Series A funding round for ReOrbit, a space technology company and a leading provider of software-first satellites. It’s the largest all-equity Series A round in Finland and one of the most significant deals overall in the European space and defence sector. The purpose of the funding round is to support ReOrbit’s growth. The round consisted of a private placement reserved for professional and institutional investors, which included, e.g. Icebreaker.vc, Expansion VC, 10xFounders, Inventure VC, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, and Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company, and an EUR 8 million public share offering, which was oversubscribed within 4.5 hours. Springvest is a Finland-based investment firm that connects unlisted growth companies with investors. ReOrbit builds sovereign satellites and connected systems for national security.
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