VUKMIR + ASSOCIATES have provided legal support in the global project of spinoff of Merck’s (MSD’s) women’s health business which is now doing business under the name Organon.
Working with Covington & Burling, VUKMIR + ASSOCIATES have provided Croatian law legal support on all corporate, commercial and medical regulatory aspects of the spinoff. VUKMIR + ASSOCIATES’ team on the project was led by partner Tomislav Pedišić, and also included associates Tea Cerinski and Hrvoje Klišanić. The project lasted for 1,5 years.
Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, is an American multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey. It is one of largest multinational corporations in the world. The company is ranked 69th on the 2021 Fortune 500 and 92nd on the 2021 Forbes Global 2000. For 130 years, it has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases in pursuit of its mission to save and improve lives. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to prevent and treat diseases that threaten people and animals – including cancer, infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola, and emerging animal diseases – aspiring to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world.
According to the Merck’s official announcement on completion of the project, Merck’s goal with the spinoff was to create two patient-focused companies with enhanced strategic and operational focus, improved agility, simplified operating models, optimized capital structures and improved financial profiles. Merck believes the transaction will deliver significant benefits for both Merck and Organon and create value for Merck shareholders. The spinoff is expected to allow Merck to increase its focus on key growth pillars, achieve higher revenue and EPS growth rates and enable incremental operating efficiencies of approximately $1.5 billion, which are expected to be achieved ratably over three years, with approximately $500 million realized during 2021. In connection with the spinoff, Merck received a distribution from Organon of approximately $9 billion.
It was our pleasure to be part of such a project and would like to thank our colleagues from Covington & Burling for seamless coordination and cooperation.