Pinsent Masons advises Abzena plc on £34m takeover

31 Aug 2018 | 05:00 pm |

International law firm Pinsent Masons is advising Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical services company Abzena plc on its recommended acquisition by a fund set up by US private equity house Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.

Astro Bidco Limited, which is wholly-owned by the WCAS Fund, has offered to pay Abzena shareholders 16p per share. Under the terms of the acquisition, the deal is valued at approximately £34.4 million on a fully diluted basis.

Abzena plc provides proprietary technologies and complementary services to enable the development and manufacture of biopharmaceutical products. The company offers these services and technologies across sites in Cambridge, UK, San Diego, California, and Bristol, Pennsylvania.

The Pinsent Masons team  is being led by corporate finance partner Charles Waddell, alongside partner Gareth Jones and senior associate Adam Cain, with assistance from solicitor Alice Foster and trainee solicitor Charlie Chetwood. Other members of the team involved  are legal director Suzannah Crookes and solicitor Kate Haywood in incentives, and banking partner Vanessa Heap, senior associate Anais Spacey and solicitor Maliha Abu-Nowar.

Latest press releases

Show me all press releases

Pinsent Masons advises on landmark university merger

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has advised the University of Greenwich on the trailblazing merger with the University of Kent, paving the way for the creation of the UK’s first “super‑university”.

Pinsent Masons advises on sale of VLocker to Venu+

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has advised on the sale of VLocker, a global leader in the design, manufacture, installation and management of electronic locker systems, to Venu+, a United States‑based portfolio company of private equity fund ZCG.

Pinsent Masons launches in Poland

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons is expanding its European footprint into Poland, announcing plans to open in Warsaw in mid-2026.

People who viewed this press release also viewed

Show me all press releases

Pinsent Masons advises on landmark university merger

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has advised the University of Greenwich on the trailblazing merger with the University of Kent, paving the way for the creation of the UK’s first “super‑university”.

Pinsent Masons advises on sale of VLocker to Venu+

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has advised on the sale of VLocker, a global leader in the design, manufacture, installation and management of electronic locker systems, to Venu+, a United States‑based portfolio company of private equity fund ZCG.

Pinsent Masons launches in Poland

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons is expanding its European footprint into Poland, announcing plans to open in Warsaw in mid-2026.

For all media enquiries, including arranging an interview with one of our spokespeople, please contact the press office on

+44 (0)20 7418 8199 or 

Location contacts

We are processing your request. \n Thank you for your patience. An error occurred. This could be due to inactivity on the page - please try again.