Ashurst advises Biotest on a rights issue with pre-placement to raise approximately €76 million

Ashurst advised Biotest AG as transaction counsel on its successful capital increase with subscription rights from authorised capital. The gross issue proceeds from the capital increase amount to approximately €76 million. The company plans to use the proceeds to create and extend new production capacities at its main production site in Dreieich, near Frankfurt. equinet Bank AG acted as sole global coordinator in the transaction.

The subscription price for the new preferred shares, which were offered to the shareholders under the subscription offer, was determined by way of an accelerated book building procedure within the framework of a pre-placement. The subscription price was determined at the upper end of the price range and all of the 1,461,909 offered new preferred shares were placed.

The Ashurst team was led by partners Reinhard Eyring and Matthias von Oppen and assisted by counsel Martina Rothe, senior associate Dr Philip Cavaillès as well as associates Julius Heusgen and Joanna Wilczynska-Gluch (all corporate / corporate finance, Frankfurt).

Biotest AG is a longstanding client of Ashurst. Ashurst regularly advises Biotest AG, particularly on corporate and capital market law, including amongst others, advising on capital measures as well as on the company's shareholders' meetings. 

In the past, Ashurst also represented the biotech specialist in legal disputes. In 2010, the firm  obtained a ground breaking judgement at the Federal Court of Justice, confirming the regulation in the articles of association of Biotest AG which authorises the chairman of the shareholders' meeting to limit the rights of shareholders to speak and pose questions at shareholders' meetings.

Biotest is a provider of plasma proteins and biotherapeutic drugs. Biotest has about 1,800 employees worldwide. The preferred shares of Biotest AG are included in the Deutsche Börse SDAX selection index.