The Week at Ropes & Gray: A Noteworthy London Transaction; Two Collaborations in Healthcare; New Funds Announced; Mitigating Risk with the EU’s Tax Haven Blacklist; Life Sciences Quarterly; Three Law360 MVPs

Weekly highlights of what’s happening at Ropes & Gray:

• Silverfleet Capital, the Pan-European private equity firm that specializes in buy-to-build, acquired a majority stake in Riviera Travel, a leading specialist holiday operator offering a global portfolio of escorted tours and cruises. Ropes & Gray advised Silverfleet Capital on the deal, which is the latest in what has been a strong year for the firm’s private equity team, both in London and globally.
• Two collaborations were announced in the healthcare sector:
• Lilly China entered a strategic collaboration with leading China internet company Tencent and online healthcare service provider DXY to develop an integrated diabetes patient care platform in China. Ropes & Gray advised Lilly China in the collaboration.
• Alexion Pharmaceuticals entered a collaboration and license agreement with Halozyme Therapeutics that enables Alexion to use Halozyme’s ENHANZE drug delivery technology in the development of subcutaneous formulations for Alexion’s rare disease drug product portfolio. Ropes & Gray advised Alexion Pharmaceuticals in the collaboration and license agreement.
• Two new funds were formed by our asset management clients:
• Benefit Street Partners L.L.C. announced the close of its fourth flagship fund, Benefit Street Partners Debt Fund IV L.P. (“Fund IV”). Ropes & Gray advised Benefit Street Partners in connection with the raise and formation of the fund. In a separate transaction, Ropes & Gray represented Benefit Street Partners in connection with a $55 million second lien financing to US Salt, LLC, a leading producer of salt products for industries, farms and homes in the Americas.
• Athyrium Capital Management announced the close of its $2 billion healthcare fund, Athyrium Opportunities Fund III. Ropes & Gray acted as counsel to Athyrium Capital Management in the formation of the fund.
• After months of screening global tax policies by the European Council’s Code of Conduct Group, the EU has finalized its tax-haven blacklist. An alert by our attorneys evaluates the list, which is the EU’s latest initiative to crack down on aggressive tax avoidance, made more crucial by the recent Panama and Paradise paper information leak. For additional resources, refer to the Ropes & Gray Risk Mitigation & Management Model webpage.
• In the final Life Sciences Quarterly of 2017, our attorneys addressed legal implications of using social media and mobile applications in clinical trials and the recent developments impacting research fraud investigations. Review a recap of the presentation, which includes video and accompanying transcript.
• Two of our partners have been honored by Law360's 2017 MVP awards: Douglas Meal, a “Cybersecurity & Privacy MVP” for the sixth consecutive year; and Taylor Hart a “Technology MVP.” The awards recognize an elite slate of attorneys that have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals.
• Follow us on Twitter @RopesGray for legal insights and the latest firm news.