Deal Announcement 09/15: Pharma & MedTech

The Deal

In April 2015, KTB Tumorforschungsgesellschaft mbH and its parent company, KTB Klinik für Tumorbiologie GmbH & Co. KG, filed for insolvency. PwC M&A was exclusively mandated by the insolvency administrators of the respective companies, Henrik Schmoll and Christopher Seagon, to advise on the sale of both companies.

We conducted an auction with international strategic investors as well as carefully selected financial sponsors in order to sell the assets of KTB Tumorforschungsgesellschaft mbH and the shares of its subsidiary ProQinase GmbH (together ‘ProQinase’).

ChinaEquity Group acquired ProQinase in a highly competitive process in September 2015 based on an offer, which was compelling with regard to its strategic, structural and financial elements. The new investor will enable the company to continue its growth path in the future and to realize potential synergies with other activities within the ChinaEquity Group. The transaction represents the first direct investment of a Chinese Private Equity Fund in this sector in Germany.

ProQinase

ProQinase is a leading contract research company for cancer drug discovery. The company has a long-standing scientific experience in cancer research with a focus on protein kinases and tumor angiogenesis. ProQinase offers in-house protein kinase production with more than 280 proteins and outstanding assay services ranging from biochemical kinase, cell-based and target-specific phosphorylation assays to functional cell-based assays like proliferation, soft agar and angiogenesis assays. The Company’s portfolio of preclinical services is completed by in vivo testing services including subcutaneous tumor models (xenograft tumor models) and orthotopic tumor models.

ChinaEquity Group

ChinaEquity Group (‘ChinaEquity’) is one of China’s earliest independent institutions devoted to venture capital and private equity investments. The Company was founded by Mr. Chaoyong Wang in 1999 and has grown to be one of the top 30 financial investors in China. ChinaEquity started overseas funds management business in 2000 with now over EUR 1bn under management. The investment portfolio focuses on TMT, Retail & Consumer Goods, Culture & Education, New Energy, High-end Equipment Manufacturing and Healthcare and targets top 3-5 companies in specific industries.

PwC

The global PricewaterhouseCoopers network is a worldwide association of independent auditing and consulting companies which together employ more than 195,000 employees in 157 countries. Our global network comprises nearly 1,550 M&A professionals all over the world, realizing approx. 390 successful transactions per year. We specialize in a wide range of independent M&A services including advice on acquisitions and disposals, mergers, public takeovers, privatizations as well as structured financing.

The PwC M&A team in Germany acted as exclusive financial advisor to the insolvency administrator of KTB Tumorforschungsgesellschaft mbH.

PwC M&A team members: Matthias Loos (Partner), Alexander Wenzel (Director), Nicolas Kreuziger (Manager), Maximilian Jähn (Consultant) and Enes Tueredi (Consultant)