Asters Advises a Leading Pharmaceutical Company in Its Further Global Expansion
December 5, 2008

Asters has advised Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the world, on the issues of Ukrainian merger control law, including obtaining merger clearance from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMC) in connection with its acquisition of another global specialty pharmaceutical company Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., headquartered in Israel, is among the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the world. The company develops, manufactures and markets generic and innovative pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Over 80 percent of Teva's sales are in North America and Western Europe.

Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc., with its headquarters in the U.S., operates through its principal subsidiaries in more than 30 countries worldwide and is engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.

The combination of the two companies will enhance Teva’s market share and leadership position in the U.S. and key global markets and further strengthen Teva’s portfolio and pipeline. The acquisition is expected to be closed by late 2008.

The filing with the AMC was handled by associates Tetiana Vovk and Iryna Tertytsia under the supervision of partner Igor Svechkar.

Asters' Partner will Discuss Mergers and Acquisitions of Law Firms at the "Law Firm Management" International Conference
December 2, 2008

Armen Khachaturyan, senior partner of Asters, will participate in the discussion session "Mergers and Acquisitions of Law Firms: Strategies for Development of Independent Law Firms in Eastern Europe" during the International Conference "Law Firm Management" which will be held in Moscow on 3-4 December 2008.

The conference will focus on regulation of the legal profession, management issues, marketing and promotion of legal services, and mergers and acquisitions on the legal services market. The agenda is expected to include the impact of the global financial crisis on the legal business. The panel dedicated to mergers and acquisitions of law firms, in particular, is to cover the following points:
Mergers completed: lessons and experience (Belarus, the Baltic States, Ukraine and the Netherlands).
Post-merger integration.

Are there any alternative strategies for manageable growth rather than mergers?
Merger vs. operational integration of law firms: short and long term perspectives.
This will be the second time the International Conference "Law Firm Management" is conducted by the International Bar Association (IBA) in Moscow. It brings together managers of leading law firms from around the world. This year the event is supported by the Law Firm Management Committee and European Forum of IBA in cooperation with LegalStudies.RU. To learn more about the event, download its program and register, please, visit web site.