Overview
Michal Berkner is a partner in the London transactions practice and is one of Europe’s preeminent M&A practitioners within the life sciences, healthcare and technology sectors. She advises major strategic buyers and sellers in game-changing public and private transactions, including cross-border deals, negotiated and unsolicited transactions, takeover defenses, corporate governance, and joint ventures.
Michal who is dual qualified (New York and England and Wales) is ranked as a leading individual in Chambers Global and Chambers UK. She also received a highly commended distinction in the Women in Law category at The British Legal Awards 2019. In 2017, Michal was included in the Financial Times HERoes list, which recognizes the top 50 female champions of women in business in the UK and Ireland. Over her 27 year legal career based in New York and London she has advised on some of the largest and most complex global M&A transactions.
Results
- Advised a clinical-stage biotech company focused on the discovery and development of treatments for severe, rare gastrointestinal (GI) conditions, on its acquisition by a leading gastrointestinal (GI) healthcare company, with an estimated aggregate consideration of approximately $1 billion*
- Advised a global biopharmaceutical company on its agreement to combine with One of Europe’s leading and life sciences investment firms (a SPAC) for $248 million*
- Advised a public biopharmaceutical company on its agreement to buy the US rights for FYCOMPA (perampanel) CIII.FY from a leading research-based pharmaceutical company*
- Advised a global biopharmaceutical company on its combination with a special purpose acquisition company, with the combined company valued at $2.25 billion*
- Advised a hormone optimisation company on its combination with with a special purpose acquisition company, with the combined company valued at $737 million*
- Advised a leading medical device company on its agreement to sell its cardiology business for $1.75 billion*
- Advised a clinical-stage global biotechnology company on its sale to an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation for up to $810 million*
- Advised a manufacturer of medical devices on its acquisition of a digital health company focused on sleep apnea diagnosis, for $538 million*
- Advised a specialty pharmaceutical company on its acquisition of a commercial stage biopharmaceutical group*
- Advised a global leader in digital consumer intelligence and social media listening on its sale for $450 million*
- Advised a global comprehensive communications platform on its acquisition of an advanced social and news media monitoring company*
- Advised the world’s premier social suite on its acquisition of a comprehensive influencer marketing platform*
- Advised one of the largest shareholders of a large online casino in connection with winning the auction for a British gambling company’s European assets for $2.76 billion*
- Advised a digital analytics platform on its acquisition of a digital analytics tool that monitors customer engagement actions and provides insights into user behavior*
- Advised a global marketing agency on its acquisitions of an industry-leading digital marketing agency*
- Advised a software company its $188 million acquisition of one of the leading contract analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) technology providers*
- Advised a leading New Space company on its acquisition of a satellite technology developer based in Virginia*
- Advised a web-based platform offering services to the production industry on its sale to a TPG Capital portfolio company*
- Advised a leading fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organisation on its acquisitions of a leading provider of clinical research home health services and a Latvian research company*
- Advised a clinical-stage biotech company on its reverse merger to create a public company focused on the development of innovative therapeutics for fibrosis-related diseases*
- Advised a biotech company on its acquisition of a biotech company that combines advanced microscopy with AI to help pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs, for $60.6 million*
- Advised a global specialty oncology pharmaceutical company on its acquisition of a leading developer of off-the-shelf CAR-NKT cell immunotherapies, for $185 million*
- Advised a developer of fiber optics- and terahertz-based technologies, on its acquisition of a company specializing in fiber optic sensing from a multinational defence technology company*
- Advised a global leader in application modernization on its sale to a British healthcare and business software manufacturer*
- Advised an online marketplace company on its acquisition of a UK digital travel company*
- Advised a Norweigan private investment firm on the merger of a European parking collection company into a US leading provider of smart transportation solutions*
- Advised a Finnish multinational telecommunications corporation on its:
- $17 billion combination with a telecommunications equipment company*
- Joint venture with a Chinese investment and development company*
- Acquisition of a Japanese security device manufacturer*
- $1.2 billion acquisition of an American consumer electronics manufacturer’s wireless network infrastructure assets*
- Advised a medical device company on its sale of its advanced wound dressings manufacturing facility to global strategic outsource partner for healthcare & consumer companies*
- Advised a venture capital firm, on its acquisition of an English cloud service company by an American telecommunications company*
- Advised a Danish transport and logistics company on its $1.3 billion acquisition of a global supply chain management business*
- Advised a growth equity firm and other shareholders on the sale of an endpoint security software company*
- Advised a Luxembourg-based multinational steel manufacturing corporation on its $33.8 billion merger with an Indian steel producer*
- Advised an American multinational investment bank as financial adviser to a world leader in communications services on its acquisition of a British telecommunications company for $5.3 billion*
- Advised an American multinational investment bank as financial adviser to a Spanish multinational telecommunications company on its sale of a controlling stake in its Czech division*
- Advised an American dental equipment manufacturer on its $1.8 billion acquisition of a dental implant technology from an Anglo-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company*
- Advised a chemicals company on its $22.2 billion acquisition of the largest licensor of polyethylene and polypropylene technologies*
- Advised a European multinational healthcare company on its acquisition of an American pharmaceutical company for $5.6 billion*
- Advised a global luggage company on its $1.7 billion sale to a Luxembourg-based private equity firm*
- Advised numerous leading global banks and financial service corporations as financial advisers on various high-profile transactions*
*Matter handled prior to joining McDermott
Recognitions
- The Legal 500 UK, Recommended, 2024
- Chambers UK 2024, Corporate/M&A
Credentials
Education
University of Pennsylvania Law School, JD, 1997
Johns Hopkins University, BA, 1994
Admissions
England and Wales
New York
