David Dowling

Growth & Venture Capital

• Advised Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. as lead investor in the US$40 million Series A financing of Cellular Origins, a UK Company developing robotic automation for cell therapy manufacturing
• Advised Pfizer Ventures and M Ventures in their $32.5 million series B financing in Enara Bio, an Oxford-based biotech designing cancer immunotherapies
• Advised Pfizer / Pfizer Ventures in connection with:
  • its investments in CellCentric, a UK biotechnology company, including:
    • its $25 million strategic investment; and
    • its participation in CellCentric's $220 million Series D financing round;
  • its investment in Levicept
  • its investment in TRIMTECH Therapeutics
• Advised Sanofi and EQT Life Sciences on their investment in Barcelona-based clinical-stage genetic medicines company SpliceBio as part of its $135 million Series B financing
• Advised Sanofi on its investment in Cardiff-based clinical-stage company Draig Therapeutics as part of its $140 million Series A financing
• Advised TPG in its series B financing in Adcendo, a biotech company developing first-in-class ADCs
• Advised Kupanda Holdings, an affiliate of TPG Growth, in connection with:
• a strategic partnership with Mavin Global, Africa's industry-leading music label, to scale operations to meet growing international demand for African music
• the sale of Mavin Global to world leading music company, Universal Music Group
• Advising Collaborative Fund in connection with its investment in Aira, a Swedish based clean energy-tech company
• 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
  • its Series B investment in OMass Therapeutics, a spin out from Oxford University that identifies medicines against highly validated target ecosystems
• 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
• Advised a global pharmaceutical company on its participation in the convertible loan note and Series C financing of a UK oncology biotech
• Advised a global asset manager on its investment in a UK AI infrastructure company and the company's subsequent redomiciliation to the US
• Advised a global asset manager on its investment in a leading UK AI video generation platform
• Advised the corporate venture arm of a global healthcare company on financings of French medtech and cell therapy manufacturing companies
• Advised a global semiconductor company on its strategic investments into an early-stage AI computing company, including a SAFE financing
• Advised a global investment manager on its participation in a European hospitality software company's Series D round alongside a leading growth equity investor
• Advised a global investment manager on its direct investment in a UK fintech data platform
• Advised a corporate venture arm of European pharma on its investment in a UK biotech company's seed extension round
• Advised US life sciences venture investors on their convertible loan note and equity investment in a UK biotech cell therapy technology company
• Advised a leading US research university on its participation in an Italian gene therapy company's Series B financing
• Advised a US investor on its convertible loan note and equity investments in a UK energy company
• Advising US VC Fund on its investment in a French clean energy company pursuant to an AIR Warrant
• Advising a life sciences venture capital fund on its investment in a UK biotechnology company working on pain treatment
• Advised US private equity fund on its investment in an international audiology business
• Advised US investors in respect of an advance subscription in British defence start-up
• Advised a global reinsurer on its corporate venture investments
• Advised an Ivy League University on an Italian life sciences venture investment

Emerging Companies

• Advised Basecamp Research, a frontier AI lab harnessing evolution to design new medicines, in connection with:
  
  • its $60 million Series B financing
  • its investment from NVentures (NVIDIA's venture capital arm) in its pre-Series C round; and
  • its $140 million Series C financing.
• Advised a UK-based biotechnology company on its seed financing round, backed by a syndicate of international venture capital investors and leading UK charities
• Advised Fraiya in its spin-out and Series Seed financing
• Advised a start-up on founder changes and governance matters

Health Care & Life Sciences

• Advised a global pharmaceutical company on its acquisition of an oncology spin-out from a British university
• Advised TransMedics Group, Inc. in a definitive agreement to invest in PAD Aviation, a premier Germany-based private aviation operator.
• Advised Population Health Partners on the formation of Metsera, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company accelerating the next generation of medicines for obesity and metabolic disease, on a $290 million financing, a licensing of assets from D&D Pharmatech and the acquisition of a spin-out from Imperial College London
• 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 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 life sciences investor on its acquisition of a clinical stage spin-out from a British university
• Advised a global healthcare company in relation to international distribution agreements
• Advised a global medtech device company on its investment in, collaboration with and option to buy Irish start-up

Life Sciences Licensing, Collaborations & Joint Ventures

• Advised Teva Pharmaceuticals International GmbH in a strategic global licensing agreement with mAbxience for a biosimilar candidate currently in development for the treatment of multiple oncology indications
• 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
• Advised a global pharmaceutical company on its licence with British biotech in connection with oncology asset

Mergers & Acquisitions

• Advised Ecovyst Inc. in an agreement to acquire the Calabrian sulfur dioxide and related sulfur derivatives business from INEOS Enterprises
• Advised K2 Insurance Services, LLC on the establishment and formation of new insurance underwriting teams
• Advised a US investment firm on the sale of its minority shareholding in an insurance company
• Advised a global retail brand on its investment in Middle East based retailer

Securities & Public Companies

• Advised MACOM Technology Solutions Inc. in its entry into Long-Term Supply Agreements (LTSAs) with IQE plc and in a financing transaction with IQE in parallel with the LTSAs
• Advised Ecovyst Inc. in an agreement to acquire the Calabrian sulfur dioxide and related sulfur derivatives business from INEOS Enterprises
• Advising Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. on its equity investment in Nanobiotix, a late-clinical stage biotechnology company, headquartered in France and listed on both Euronext Paris and Nasdaq in New York City, pioneering physics-based approaches to cancer treatment
• Advised Jounce Therapeutics on its:
• proposed business combination via a proposed all-share merger with Redx Pharma to form a new company, Redx Inc.
• acquisition by Concentra Biosciences for $1.85 in cash per share plus Contingent Value Rights
• Advised a global biotechnology company on its acquisition of a clinical-stage gene therapy company pursuant to a Part 26 Scheme of Arrangement
• *Acted for the Nazer Group in its partial sale of Bupa Arabia, the largest health insurer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to Bupa

Impact Investing

• Acting for British International Investment (FKA ‘CDC’), 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
• Advised FinDev Canada, Canada's development finance institution, in connection with its investment in M-Kopa, a leading provider of off-grid solar energy in East Africa
• 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 US 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
• *Acted for Investcorp on its sale of GL Education, a leading London-based provider of educational assessments, to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP)
• *Acted for Investcorp and its portfolio company SecureLink on their acquisition of Nebulas Solutions, the United Kingdom’s largest independent cybersecurity service provider
• *Acted for Apollo Global Management in relation to its acquisition of a portfolio of 22 Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn branded hotels in the UK
• *Acted for Apollo Global Management on the sale of the Kensington Forum Hotel to Queensgate Investments
• *Acted for Liberty Hall Capital Partners in relation to its acquisition of Dunlop Aircraft Tyres from AAC Capital Partners
• *Acted for Stroz Friedberg in relation to international corporate acquisitions
• *Acted for Virgin Active in relation to the acquisition of a controlling interest by Brait
• *Acted for Lone Star in relation to its acquisition of Hanson Building Products for USD 1.4 billion
• *Acted for Laird plc in relation to international corporate acquisitions

*Notable transactions in which David has been involved prior to joining the firm.