Clermont Group Investment Fuels Groundbreaking Drug Discovery Program - McDermott Will & Emery

Clermont Group Investment Fuels Groundbreaking Drug Discovery Program

THE CHALLENGE:

With a mission to “harness the goodness of business to create a better world,” The Clermont Group—a Singapore-based international business group—builds innovative businesses in healthcare and other select industries.

In the healthcare space, the company recognized the long-term potential of pioneering technology emerging from PostEra, a young Boston-based biotech company that uses AI to develop drug discovery programs, and the value of its contribution to society. The Clermont Group saw the opportunity to act as lead investor in PostEra’s Series A investment round to raise capital for advancing its capabilities.

OUR OBJECTIVE:

The Clermont Group leaned on a McDermott team covering three continents to help negotiate the transaction documents and coordinate a stringent due diligence process, ensuring the company’s interests were protected.

The McDermott team was led by partner Arvin Abraham in London and counsel Dawn Tan in Singapore and included associate Princess Fuller in New York. They leveraged McDermott’s international platform to effectively address the challenge of a transaction that spanned disparate geographies and time zones.

THE OUTCOME:

The Clermont Group successfully led the $24 million Series A financing. PostEra will use the funding to further its work on drug discovery programs, begin its own internal discovery program and advance its medicinal chemistry platform.

Prior to closing the deal, the McDermott team enlisted skilled colleagues across practices in employment, intellectual property and beyond to handle due diligence in the United States. The team also completed regulatory work to put in place the necessary paperwork and approvals that PostEra required to continue operating in different states in the US.

McDermott’s geographic footprint was a key benefit to a deal with parties scattered across the globe: The Clermont Group in Singapore, PostEra in Boston and PostEra’s legal representation in San Francisco. Providing skilled advice on US law from the London office, Arvin was well positioned to bridge the time gap between the client in Singapore and the target in the US to swiftly address cross-border needs.

McDermott’s ability to deploy a global team to organize multi-disciplinary due diligence and handle near-constant communications between time zones facilitated the successful outcome.

MOVE FASTER:

Faced with the challenge of closing the deal, which overlapped with both Thanksgiving in the US and the Christmas holidays, the McDermott team coordinated a streamlined effort to close within two months, on New Year’s Eve. McDermott’s vast healthcare experience, combined with the sophistication of the venture capital and growth equity practice, put the deal team in a strong position to expedite a smooth transaction.

Learn more about our healthcare and venture capital capabilities.