Chris Comeau leads the firm’s strategic M&A group. Chris focuses his practice on representing public companies and financial investors in connection with public and private merger and acquisition and minority investment transactions. The public companies Chris represents operate primarily in the consumer, life sciences and medical technology industries. The financial investors Chris represents invest primarily in consumer products and retail brands, services, and manufacturing. Chris has led recent transactions for Medtronic, Signify Health, Shire, Pfizer, Sarepta Therapeutics, TSG Consumer Partners, and Johnson & Johnson.
Prior to joining Ropes & Gray, Chris spent three years with Coopers & Lybrand LLP, a predecessor firm to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Experience
Strategic Transactions
- Represented Jounce Therapeutics, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, in its acquisition by Concentra Biosciences for $100 million plus contingent value rights.
- Represented Signify Health in its sale to CVS Health in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $8 billion in total consideration. The transaction closed in the first half of 2023.
- Represented Medtronic in its acquisition of Affera, a cardiac ablation solutions company, for $925 million.
- Represented Acceleron Therapeutics, a biotechnology company, in its $11.5 billion sale to Merck.
- Represented a 22% stockholder in connection with its participation in the acquisition of Immersat by Viasat for $7.3 billion.
- Represented Medtronic in its $1.1 billion acquisition of Intersect ENT, a medical technology company.
- Represented a 24% stockholder in connection with its participation in the sale of Translate Bio to Sanofi for $3.2 billion.
- Represented Prevail Therapeutics, a gene therapy company, in its $1 billion sale to Eli Lilly and Company.
- Represented Sandbridge Acquisition Corporation, a SPAC co-sponsored by affiliates of Sandbridge Capital and PIMCO private funds, in its business combination with Owlet Baby Care, a manufacturer of baby monitors.
- Represented TESARO in connection with its sale to GSK for $5.1 billion.
- Represented C&S Wholesale Grocers in connection with its sale of three warehouses and related operations to Ahold Delhaize.
- Represented Pfizer in connection with is acquisition of several vaccine products from GSK in a competition authority-mandated divestiture process.
- Represented a special committee of the board of Akcea Therapeutics in the sale of Akcea, a late-stage pharmaceutical company, to Ionis Pharmaceuticals.
- Represented Pfizer in connection with its $14 billion acquisition of Medivation, a commercial-stage oncology company.
- Represented Shire in connection with its $36 billion combination with Baxalta, a business spun out of Baxter International, for a combination of cash and stock.
- Represented Shire in its acquisition of Dyax for $5.9 billion in cash plus contingent value rights.
- Represented Mattress Firm, the largest US specialty mattress retailer, in connection with its $4 billion sale to Steinhoff International.
- Represented Medtronic in connection with its $1.3 billion acquisition of HeartWare International, a heart pump manufacturer.
- Represented Cubist Pharmaceuticals in connection with its sale to Merck for $9.5 billion.
- Represented Performance Health in connection with its initial public offering registration and ultimate sale to Patterson Medical for an undisclosed amount.
- Represented Pfizer in connection with is acquisition of several vaccine products from GSK.
- Represented Cubist Pharmaceuticals in connection with its simultaneously announced $801 million acquisition of Optimer and $818 million acquisition of Trius Therapeutics.
- Represented Genzyme Corporation, Sanofi's rare disease subsidiary, in connection with its $700 million investment in Alnylam, made in connection with the entry into a wide-ranging collaboration to pursue therapeutics to treat rare diseases.
- Represented Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals in connection with the sale of its Factor IX and OBI-1 products to Cangene Corporation and Baxter out of bankruptcy in exchange for payments that could exceed $1 billion.
- Represented a 35% stockholder in connection with its participation in the sale of Idenix Pharmaceuticals to Merck for $3.9 billion.
- Represented Russian Standard in connection with its $300 million strategic PIPE investment in Central European Distribution Corporation.
- Represented Genzyme Corporation in connection with its divestiture of three non-core business units, including the sale of its Genzyme Genetics business unit to Laboratory Corporation of America for $925 million.
- Represented Genzyme Corporation in connection with its $2.9 billion acquisition of the rights to three oncology products from Bayer Pharmaceuticals.
- Represented a special committee of the board of directors of Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. in connection with the $8.3 billion sale of ACS to Xerox Corporation.
- Represented Brooks Automation in connection with its acquisition of Helix Technology and the divestiture of its software business to Applied Materials.
Private Equity Investments
- Represented Cinven, a London-based private equity firm, in its pending $720 million acquisition of TaxAct, an online tax preparation software provider.
- Represented a consortium of pharmaceutical companies in connection with their commitments to the AMR Action Fund, an investment fund established to advance the cause of reducing anti-microbial resistance.
- Represented TSG Consumer Partners in connection with various capital markets transactions and its investments in Cadogan Tate, American Technologies, Thrive Pet Health, Scopely, Robinhood Markets, Core Power Yoga, Dutch Bros., Vici, Power Stop, Chemical Guys, BrewDog, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Prive Reveaux, NUUN, Makeup Revolution, Voss Water from Norway, Smart Balance, CytoSport, Island Oasis, Sexy Hair Concepts, Alexis Bittar, Paige Premium Denim, Revolve, Canyon Bicycles, Backcountry.com and Summer Fridays.
- Represented Gridiron Capital in connection with its investments in Performance Health, HM Dunn, Nex-Tech Machining, Apex Engineering International, McKenzie Sports Products, Schutt Sports, Circle System, PAS Technologies, Electronic System Protection, Ramsey Industries and Eskridge; and in connection with its sales of PAS Technologies, McKenzie Sports Products and Schutt Sports.
Other Matters
- Represented a consortium of pharmaceutical companies in connection with their commitments to the AMR Action Fund, an investment fund established to advance the cause of reducing anti-microbial resistance.
- Represented two large medical device companies in connection with their respective divestitures of a portfolio of minority investments to a financial investor.