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Sonia de Kondserovsky

Partner
Sonia is an excellent adviser in M&A transactions and negotiations in life sciences. Her expertise, calm and capacity to adjust to difficult situations or environment was very much appreciated.
Client, Chambers Europe 2023
About

Partner since 2008, Sonia de Kondserovsky has been practicing law for over 20 years.

She joined DLA Piper in 2014 and began her career in British and American global law firms.

She is renowned for her pragmatic and commercial approach to structuring and negotiating complex transactions and for her ability to bring them to a successful completion.

Sonia de Kondserovsky has been the lead lawyer on numerous strategic transactions in several industry sectors, mostly life sciences, but also in the financial sector and other regulated industries.

She heads the life sciences team of DLA Piper Paris.

Her practice covers a wide range of transactions, including: acquisitions of listed and non-listed companies, cross-borders transactions, strategic partnerships, collaborations and licensing agreements, industrial spin-offs, investments and fund raisings, joint-ventures, product portfolios acquisitions and corporate restructurings.

Sonia de Kondserovsky regularly advises multinational corporations and investments funds on their investments, as well as family-owned companies of all sizes on key governance and business succession planning issues.

She is also the author of the Jurisclasseur Commercial booklets on partial contributions of assets, which set the benchmark for corporate restructurings.

Professional QualificationsAvocate admitted to the Paris BarAbogada registered with Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Madrid

EXPERIENCE

Life Sciences transactions

Sonia de Kondserovsky has been the lead lawyer with respect to the following transactions:

  • Advising the Pierre Fabre Group on a number of transactions, including the acquisition of Swiss biotech Verticalbio, the sale of its CDMO business to Fareva, and its strategic collaboration with Foresee for the R&D and industrial development of oncology products for pre-filled syringes.
  • Advising UMPC (US) in connection with its participation in various rounds of financing for the French biotech Gensight.
  • Advising Eurazeo (Nov Santé) on its acquisition of a stake in Oncodesign.
  • Advising the medical devices group Stryker on its acquisition of Serf.
  • Advising Japan-based global pharmaceutical group Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. on several transactions, including on its purchase of rights for ophthalmic drugs in Japan, Asia/Pacific and Europe from Merck & Co. for USD600 million and on its public tender offer on Novagali (Euronext C) and subsequent squeeze out.
  • Advising Sanofi in connection with its collaboration and licensing agreement with the Japanese laboratory Kyowa Hakko Kirin.
  • Advising Becton Dickinson on its French corporate restructuring in the context of the transfer of its respiratory solutions business to Vyaire Medical, a newly created joint venture.
  • Advising Nordic Pharma in connection with its collaboration and licensing agreement with Nippon Kayaku, granting Nordic Pharma exclusive rights to develop and market Spanidin® (gusperimus) outside Japan.
  • Advising Innothéra on its strategic partnership with BioSerenity for the research and industrial development of connected medical devices.
  • Advising Sanofi on a number of transactions, including the sale of its Quétigny manufacturing site to Delpharm, the sale of its Trandolapril manufacturing and marketing rights to Abbott, the spin-off of its R&D activities in bone diseases (Proskelia) and anti-infectives (Novexel), followed by equity investments by PE funds (Warburg, Atlas, Sofinnova).
  • Advising Terumo Corporation on its acquisition of Bolton Medical SAS.
  • Advising Emergent Biotechnologies on its acquisition of a joint venture interest and product portfolio from Sanofi.

Other transactions      

  • Advising Société Générale on more than a dozen of transactions, including its acquisitions of several fintech companies (Shine and Treezor), its acquisitions through ALD in Spain (BanSabadell Renting and Reflex de Alquiler), in the Netherlands (SternLease BV) and its joint ventures with Mitsubishi in Thailand and Malaysia.
  • Advising Renault on its program to divest its automotive distribution business in 7 jurisdictions (Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Croatia).
  • Advising Proparco on its acquisition of a stake in Finafrica.
  • Advising Société Générale on its participation in a Cap Gemini/Credit Agricole joint-venture named “Azqore”.
  • Advising BIC on its acquisition of Advanced Magnetic Interaction.
  • Advising Sodexo in connection with the sale of its global homecare division to Halifax group.
  • Advising of the insurance group AON on numerous acquisitions in France, including the acquisition of Apollo Conseil & Courtage, Chapka Assurances and Ovatio.
  • Advising Coca-Cola on its acquisition of Tropico.
  • Advising Alcatel-Lucent on a number of transactions, including the sale of its cyber security and eavesdropping business to Thales, the sale of its global RFS business to Alcatel Shanghai Bell (China), the sale of its global Adixen business to Pfeiffer (€200 million), the sale of its global Dunerkermotoren business to Triton (€145 million) and its acquisition of Velocix.
  • Advising Allianz on the transnational intra-group merger of its French subsidiary with the German parent company.
Languages
  • French
  • Spanish
  • Russian
  • English
Education
  • University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas, Post graduate degree in business and tax law (DEA de droit des affaires et fiscalité), with honors, 1992
  • University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas, Masters degree in business and tax law (Maîtrise de droit des affaires et fiscalité), with honors, 1991

Recognitions

Individual Recognitions

  • Chambers Europe – Pharma/Life Sciences: Sonia de Kondserovsky is an excellent adviser in M&A transactions and negotiations in life sciences. Her expertise, calm and capacity to adjust to difficult situations or environment was very much appreciated”. Client, Chambers 2023
  • Best Lawyers – Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice; M&A, Corporate and Biotechnology/Life Sciences – 2020-2025

Team Recognitions

  • Legal 500 - Industry Focus: Healthcare and Life Sciences - Tier 2 - 2023

Publications

Legal doctrine

  • "The reform of French Contract law and its impact on mergers and acquisitions", Revue de Droit Bancaire et Financier - Revue Bimestrielle Lexis Nexis/Jurisclasseur.
  • "The Reform of French Contract Law in an M&A context: revolution or status quo?", Journal of International Banking and Finance law.
  • "International and Transnational Mergers", Actes Pratiques (co-authored with Professor Michel Menjucq, comparative study between the regime under transposed European law and the regime under private international law).
  • "Contributions under the spin off regime", Jurisclasseur Commercial (booklet containing a comparative study between contributions under the spin-off regime and contributions in kind). 

Seminars

Sonia lectures in the Business Law Master II of Paris II University.

Memberships And Affiliations

  • American Bar Association
  • Institut Français des Administrateurs
  • France Biotech

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