On August 10, 2020, Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Pfenex Inc. announced the signing of a definitive agreement for Ligand to acquire all outstanding shares of Pfenex for a total transaction value of up to $516 million. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented Pfenex in the transaction.

Pfenex is a development and licensing biotechnology company with commercial products focused on leveraging its proprietary protein production platform, Pfenex Expression Technology^®, to develop next-generation and novel protein therapeutics to meaningfully improve existing therapies and create novel therapies for biological targets linked to critical, unmet diseases. Pfenex’s expertise in the expression of complex proteins is highly complementary to Ligand’s industry-leading antibody and drug enabling technologies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ligand will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Pfenex common stock for $438 million upfront in cash. Ligand will also pay holders of Pfenex common stock $78 million as a Contingent Value Right in the event a predefined regulatory milestone is achieved by December 31, 2021. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The Wilson Sonsini team representing Pfenex includes the following attorneys:

Corporate
Dan Koeppen
Zachary Myers
Daniel Canavan

M&A
Ethan Lutske
Emma Sarkisyan
Erin Malone-Shkurkin
Elia Perez Villamarin

Technology Transactions
Ian Edvalson
Mary O’Brien

Patents and Innovations
Lori Westin
Peter Kang

Employee Benefits & Compensation
Matthew Norgard
Jason Chan

Employment Law
Neil Gulyako, Associate 

Antitrust
Benjamin Labow, Partner

Tax
Myra Sutanto Shen, Partner

Regulatory
David Hoffmeister, Partner

Please see the press release announcing the deal for more information.