David Dowling
Counsel
David Dowling has a broad range of experience advising clients on M&A transactions and providing general corporate law advice, particularly within the life sciences and healthcare industry.
David has significant experience of acting for private equity and growth investors and their portfolio companies on a range of issues, including acquisitions, equity investments, disposals, management incentivization and corporate restructurings.
In 2022 David spent 9 months on secondment to Johnson & Johnson, where he acted on a range of matters including for Johnson & Johnson Innovation and JJDC as well as advising on licensing transactions.
David has an active interest in impact investing, having advised a range of different impact investors. David is a board member of GAIL - the Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers - and regularly participates in conferences and academic discussions on impact investing. David also maintains an active pro bono practice with a focus on impact investing and social enterprises.
David also has an active interest in emerging markets, representing investors in Africa. He is a member of the firm’s Indian initiative, having advised on a number of Indian investments and acquisitions.
David is a guest teacher on the legal aspects of private equity and venture capital on the LLM at the London School of Economics. Prior to this, David taught for five years as a course leader and lecturer on the law of international private equity finance on the LLM at King’s College London.
Prior to joining the firm in 2017, David was an associate in the corporate and private equity team of the London office of an international law firm. David has also worked internationally, including as a secondee to Singapore during his training. David was recognized as “Trainee Solicitor of the Year” in 2013 by All About Law.
Experience
Health Care & Life Sciences
- Advised Becton, Dickinson and Company in its acquisition of Tissuemed Ltd, a developer of surgical sealant technology
- Advised Envision Pharma Group, a portfolio company of GHO Capital Partners, on its acquisition of Two Labs, an industry-leading provider of integrated and customized commercial solutions to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector
- Advised GHO Capital Partners on its acquisition (alongside the existing Envision management team and employees) of a majority stake in Envision Pharma Group, a leading technology-enabled scientific communications company
- Advised NeoGenomics Inc.in connection with:
- a strategic collaboration with Inivata for the commercialization of Cambridge, UK-headquartered Inivata’s InVisionFirst-Lung liquid biopsy test in the United States
- its acquisition of Inivata Ltd, a global, commercial stage liquid biopsy platform company, headquartered in Cambridge, UK
- Advised a global medical technology provider on its acquisition of a UK based AI business
- Advised a global biotechnology company on its acquisition of a clinical-stage gene therapy company pursuant to a Part 26 Scheme of Arrangement
- *Acting for the Nazer Group in its partial sale of Bupa Arabia, the largest health insurer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to Bupa.
Growth & Venture Capital
- Advising Northpond Ventures in connection with:
- its Seed investment in Mestag Therapeutics, a breakthrough inflammatory disease and immuno-oncology company.
- its Series B investment in Current Health, the Scottish enterprise remote care management platform
- its Series A investment in Refeyn, a spin out from Oxford University specialising in mass photometry and molecule imaging
- Ori Biotech, a leader in cell and gene therapy manufacturing:
- as leader of the $30 million Series A financing
- as a follow-on investor in the $100 million Series B financing
- Advising Novalis LifeSciences as leader of the $100 million Series B financing in Ori Biotech, a leader in cell and gene therapy manufacturing. The transaction was the first investment by new fund Novalis LifeSciences Investments II
- Advised Sands Capital in connection with:
- its Series A investment in Speech Graphics, an Edinburgh-based pioneer in speech-driven animation technology
- its Series B investment in PolyAI, a London-based technology company with a state-of-the-art machine learning platform for creating conversational agents
- its Series B investment in Brightflag, an AI-powered legal spend and matter management technology provider to in-house teams
- Advising a life sciences venture capital fund on its investment in a UK biotechnology company working on pain treatment
- Advised Kupanda Holdings - a joint venture between Kupanda Capital and TPG Growth - on its partnership with Mavin Global, Africa's industry-leading music label
Impact Investing
- Acting for CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution and the world’s oldest DFI, in connection with its investment in:
- M-Kopa, a leading provider of off-grid solar energy in East Africa
- iMerit, an artificial intelligence and machine learning platform in India
- Acting for PG Impact Investments in relation to its senior and mezzanine financing to Tugende, a Ugandan based provider of lease-to-own financing to the financially excluded
- Advised a consortium of development finance institutions and impact investors on a convertible debt investment in an African energy company
- Advised the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund in connection with various grant agreements with local trust funds and other environmental and conservation stakeholders in the wider Caribbean region
Private Equity
- Acting for Bain Capital in connection with:
- the acquisition of NGA UK, a UK payroll and HR business from NGA Human Resources
- the acquisition of Benefex, an HR technology business
- Acting for Baring Private Equity Asia in connection with:
- its sale of Hexaware Technologies, a provider of information technology, business process outsourcing and consulting services
- its definitive agreement to sell the surgical business of Lumenis Ltd. to Boston Scientific Corp.
- the US$1 billion+ acquisition of Lumenis, the Israeli-headquartered global leader in the field of minimally-invasive clinical solutions for the aesthetic, surgical and ophthalmology specialties
- its acquisition of CitiusTech, a specialist provider based in India of technology solutions to health care organisations
- it and PAI Partners’ acquisition of World Freight Company International, the global leader in the General Sales and Service Agent market
- its purchase of approximately 18.85 million NIIT Technologies Limited shares—approximately 30% shareholding on a fully diluted basis in NIIT Technologies—from NIIT Limited and other promoter entities at a price of INR 1394 per share
- Acting for Altamont Capital Partners on its exit from McLarens, an international provider of loss adjusting services, as part of an investment by Lee Equity Partners
- Advised K2 Insurance Services, a portfolio company of Lee Equity Partners, the U.S. private equity firm, on its acquisition of Pioneer Underwriters, a London-headquartered underwriting services organisation
- Advised an Asian private equity house on its acquisition of a provider based in India of software services with focus on the communications industry
- Acting for the management of Ocean Outdoor, the UK market leader in premium digital out-of-home media, on the sale of the business to Ocelot, a listed SPAC
- Acting for Ensono, a portfolio company of Charlesbank Capital, on its acquisition of the hosted data center services business from Wipro Limited, the IT consulting company in India
- Acting for BigHand, a leading provider of productivity software to the legal market – and a portfolio company of Bridgepoint, the international private equity group – on its acquisition of DW Reporting, a legal business intelligence and matter pricing provider
- *Acting for Investcorp on its sale of GL Education, a leading London-based provider of educational assessments, to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP).
- *Acting for Investcorp and its portfolio company SecureLink on their acquisition of Nebulas Solutions, the United Kingdom’s largest independent cybersecurity service provider.
- *Acting for Apollo Global Management in relation to its acquisition of a portfolio of 22 Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn branded hotels in the UK.
- *Acting for Apollo Global Management on the sale of the Kensington Forum Hotel to Queensgate Investments.
- *Acting for Liberty Hall Capital Partners in relation to its acquisition of Dunlop Aircraft Tyres from AAC Capital Partners.
- *Acting for Stroz Friedberg in relation to international corporate acquisitions.
- *Acting for Virgin Active in relation to the acquisition of a controlling interest by Brait.
- *Acting for Lone Star in relation to its acquisition of Hanson Building Products for USD 1.4 billion.
- *Acting for Laird plc in relation to international corporate acquisitions.
*Notable transactions in which David has been involved prior to joining the firm.
Publications
- Quoted, “What does Rishi Sunak’s Northern Ireland deal mean for life sciences in the U.K.?,” The Pharma Letter (March 2, 2023)
- Author, “What to Expect From The European Life Sciences and Healthcare Market in 2023,” Healthcare Markets International (February 2023)
- Co-author, “How Biden-Harris’ policies on ESG and impact investing will affect private equity,” Private Equity News (November 16, 2020)
- Author, “Cyber-Attacks: The Global Response,” Risk, Governance & Compliance for Financial Institutions (April 6, 2015)
Presentations
- Conference Coordinator & Panel Chair, Impact Finance & Healthcare, GAIL Conference (2023)
- Speaker, Funding Stages for Start-ups, Imperial College Green Tech Incubator Hub (2022)
- Conference Coordinator & Panelist, The Impact Revolution: The Role of Law and Lawyers, ESELA Conference, London School of Economics (2019)
- Conference Program Committee & Panelist, Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship, NYU Law School (2018)
- Attendee, the Global Impact Investing Network, Paris (2018)
- Speaker, PILnet European Pro Bono Forum (2014)
Disclaimer
Ropes & Gray International LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in Delaware, United States of America and is a recognised body regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (with registered number 521000).Education
- Legal Practice Course, Commendation, University of Law, Moorgate, 2012
- Graduate Diploma in Law, Commendation, City University, London, 2011
- BA (Theology), 1st Class Honours, Oxford University, Oriel College, 2010; Gibbs Prize
Admissions / Qualifications
Qualifications
- England and Wales, Solicitor, 2014