Düsseldorf/Munich — Karo Health­care is expan­ding its presence in Italy with this acqui­si­tion. The acqui­si­tion also streng­thens Karo’s stra­te­gic focus on premium brands in areas asso­cia­ted with discom­fort and shame. Proc­to­se­dyl® is a leading brand in Italy for the treat­ment of hemor­rhoids. The acqui­si­tion expands Karo’s posi­tion in one of its core compe­ten­cies, diges­tive health, which includes global brands such as Proct® and Hemoproct®.

ARQIS advi­sed Karo Health­care on the acqui­si­tion of Proc­to­se­dyl® from Bayer. The tran­sac­tion gives Karo the exclu­sive distri­bu­tion rights to the OTC product in Italy.

“This acqui­si­tion adds a trus­ted brand that covers an often negle­c­ted cate­gory with untap­ped poten­tial. We are exci­ted about the oppor­tu­nity to improve access to relia­ble treat­ments for Italian consu­mers and further expand our Italian busi­ness,” said Matt Roberts, CCO of Karo Healthcare.

The acqui­si­tion was carried out as an asset deal, without person­nel and produc­tion faci­li­ties, which redu­ces the commer­cial risk and ensu­res seam­less inte­gra­tion. Karo will use its exis­ting infra­struc­ture and rely on estab­lished part­ners in Italy.

The ARQIS team around Jörn-Chr. Schulze (Photo © arqis) acted for the first time for Karo Health­care, a Swedish EQT invest­ment company. The team’s healthcare/life science and private equity focus were decisive for the mandate.

Advi­sor Karo Health­care: ARQIS (Düsseldorf/Munich)

Dr. Jörn-Chris­­tian Schulze (Lead Part­ner), Dr. Maxi­mi­lian Back­haus, Malte Grie­pen­burg (all Tran­sac­tions), Part­ners: Dr. Fried­rich Gebert (Regu­la­tory), Marcus Noth­hel­fer (IP), Mana­ging Asso­cia­tes: Daniel Schle­mann (Data Law), Rolf Tichy (IP), Asso­ciate: Dr. Bern­hard Gröhe (Regu­la­tory), Trade­mark Profes­sio­nal: Caro­lin von Fritsch

Fran­zosi — Dal Negro — Setti (Milan) Stefano Giberti, Fran­cesco Setti (both Italian regu­la­tory law)

About ARQIS

ARQIS is an inde­pen­dent busi­ness law firm opera­ting inter­na­tio­nally. Around 80 lawy­ers and legal specia­lists advise dome­stic and foreign compa­nies at the highest level on German, Euro­pean and Japa­nese commer­cial law. With the focus groups Tran­sac­tions, HR.Law, Japan, Data.Law, Risk and Regu­la­tory, the firm is geared towards provi­ding compre­hen­sive advice to its clients. The law firm was foun­ded in 2006 and has offices in Düssel­dorf, Munich and Tokyo as well as a talent hub in Berlin. For more infor­ma­tion, visit www.arqis.com.