Sanofi-Aventis Campus Deal Reaches Finish Line On Tight Timetable
Windels Marx was engaged by a newly formed joint venture, comprised of affiliates of Advance Realty Group, a long-time client of the Firm, and a Boston-based real estate investment firm, formed for the acquisition of the former Sanofi-Aventis research and development campus in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
The recently-vacated 110 acre campus, improved with over 1.2 million square feet of laboratory, research and manufacturing facilities and office space, represented a unique opportunity in the regional marketplace that had been the object of an intense bidding war amongst competing investors. After winning the bid, in part based on a commitment to close the transaction on a compressed timeline, the joint venture turned to Windels Marx to get the transaction concluded in just over 30 days.
Windels Marx formed a multi-disciplinary legal team, comprised of lawyers in its New Jersey and New York offices, led by Karl Piirimae (Partner, New York and New Jersey) to negotiate the joint venture agreement, bridge financing documents and acquisition agreements. The team also provided due diligence support and advised the joint venture with respect to environmental matters. The joint venture and bridge loan documents were negotiated by Rob Rossi (Partner, New York) with the assistance of Christopher Dean (Associate, New York) and Dan Pocchiari (Special Counsel, New York). The environmental team comprised of Andrew Craig and Richard Crooker (both Partners, Madison), and Leo Motiuk (Special Counsel, Madison) advised the client with respect to ISRA compliance, permit transfers and the negotiation of environmental insurance coverages. Michael Brenna (Associate, New Brunswick) handled the conveyance of the property and related asset transfers.
This is the second representation in recent months on which Karl and the Windels Marx team have played a prominent role involving sophisticated real estate assets within the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry.
Media Mentions
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- National Real Estate Investor
- NJBiz.com
- The Star-Ledger
