Ásta Margrét Eiríksdóttir

On 26 February 2024, subsequent to receiving an approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Simlandi injection as an interchangeable biosimilar to arthritis drug Humira, Alvotech announced that the company had accepted offers from Icelandic and European professional investors or eligible counterparties for the secondary sale of shares for a value of approximately USD 166 million.

Alvotech is a biotech company that specialises in the development and manufacturing of biosimilar medicines for patients worldwide and was the first Icelandic company to be dual listed in the US and Iceland.

BBA//Fjeldco was Alvotech’s legal advisor with respect to the secondary sale of shares and congratulates its management team and employees on the important milestone achieved in the company‘s journey to offer broader access worldwide to more affordable biologics, following approvals of Alvotech’s biosimilars in other global markets.

BBA//Fjeldco provided legal advice to biosimilar pharmaceutical company Alvotech in their private placement offering and issuance of convertible bonds amounting to approximately USD 70,000,000. Among the subscribers where large investors such as the pension funds in Iceland. This was a complex multi-jurisdictional transaction that involved an entity incorporated under Luxembourg law and cooperation of several legal advisera across borders.

BBA//Fjeldco acted as legal adviser to Rotovia hf., with respect to an acquisition of the rotational molding activities of Berry Global Inc., global manufacturer and marketer of plastic packaging products. Rotovia hf. is an entity owned by private equity funds Freyja (managed by Kvika eignastyring hf.) and SIA IV (managed by Arion Bank hf.) and key management. Among the aspects of the transactions BBA//Fjeldco advised on were the Share Purchase Agreement with Berry Global Inc., and the Facility Agreement with Private Debt II (a senior fund managed by Capital Four). This was a complex multi-jurisdictional transaction that took over a year to complete, involving W&I insurance, whereas Rotovia acquired a carve-out of the rotational molding activities of Berry Global Inc. and subsequently became a leading international player in the fragmented rotational molding plastic product market.

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BBA//Fjeldco gave advice to the structure and timing of the takeover bid, granted advice with regards to regulatory and competition matters, as well advising to the capital structure of Strengur hf. (Bidco). Furthermore BBA//Fjeldco held negotiations and covered documentation with financing parties.

 BBA//Fjeldco acted as the legal advisors for the merging entites, i.e. TM hf., Kvika banki hf. and Lykill fjármögnun hf. throughout the merger process, which covered all aspects of the deal, including but not limited to drafting of transaction documents, due diligence, competition matters, tax matters, regulatory issues in relation to the Financial Supervisory Authority and NASDAQ OMX Iceland. This is by far the largest and most high profile merger in Iceland in recent years,involving three different types of financial undertakings, an insurance company (TM hf.), a commercial bank (Kvika banki hf.) and a leasing company (Lykill fjármögnun hf.).

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BBA//Fjeldco provided legal counsel in respect to the takeover bid process with all shares issued by Heimavellir hf.

The transaction was structured as an initial stake building to trigger a mandatory takeover offer. This was the first transaction in Iceland for numerous years whereas a mandatory takeover offer has been triggered with the intent of the offeror to acquire the target.

 With the bidder being a Norwegian entity BBA//Fjeldco provided legal counsel on Icelandic law issues relating to all securities transactions, the takeover bid and the takeover process.

BBA//Fjeldcoprovided legal advice to the start-up company, Lucinity Group ehf., in relationto two rounds of financing amounting to USD 8.1 million as well all corporatematters relating thereto. Lucinity Group ehf. specializes in the development ofartificial intelligence solutions in the field of anti-money laundering. Thesolution empowers its clientele, ranging from digital microbanks to tier 1 USbanks, to detect unusual behavior and transactions improving review efficiency.

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The Dutch company Total Specific Solutions has completedthe purchase of all shares in the Icelandic software company DK Hugbúnaður ehf.BBA//Fjeldco represented the buyer during the transaction. The firm’s lawyersconducted a legal due diligence on DK Hugbúnaður and provided the buyer withlegal advice regarding the transaction. In addition, they worked closely withthe sellers’ lawyers on documentation and closing of the transaction. Thetransaction is one of the largest corporate transactions of the year in Icelandand among the largest foreign investments in an Icelandic company in a longtime.

BBA//Fjeldco acted as a legal advisor to Kvika banki hf. in relation to ISK 2,406,000,000 acquisition of all shares issued by Gamma Capital Management hf., an asset management company in Iceland.