Advant Medical was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Galway, Ireland, with operations in Costa Rica and partner manufacturing in Mexico. The firm is a developer and manufacturer of Class I, II, and III medical devices and packaging.
UFP Technologies chairman and CEO Jeffrey Bailly lauded the acquisition of Advant, which he described as complementing the firm’s recent acquisition of Contech Medical. “It’s an excellent cultural and strategic fit that increases our value to our growing medical customer base in several ways,” he said in a statement. “Advant brings us medical product development and clean room manufacturing in Ireland, a key strategic geography to which we annually ship millions of dollars’ worth of product. It also adds in-house injection molding expertise to our list of capabilities.”
TCF Law Group advised UFP Technologies on the acquisition with a team led by partner Stephen Doyle. UFP Technologies was also advised by Arthur Cox and Nassar Abogados, while McSweeney & Company, Salter McGowan Sylvia & Leonard and Consortium Legal advised Advant.
Lawyer Monthly had the pleasure to speak with Stephen Doyle, Partner at TCF Law Group to give us some further insight into this transaction:
Can you tell us some more about the role you played during the acquisition?
We structured the acquisition which involved companies acquired in three different countries, with coordinated and separate closings. TCF Law selected and coordinated local counsel while drafting the principal documentation and leading the legal negotiations on behalf of UFP, working closely with UFP’s General Counsel, Chris Litterio.
How were your particular skills and experience useful in advising UFP Technologies?
I have experience living and working in Europe and have structured, drafted and negotiated cross-border transactions in Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America for over 30 years. I have familiarity and experience with civil law and common law countries and teach international business transactions at Boston University Law School. Since I have been on the boards of Irish, US and UK companies, held business positions with public companies where I led business units and been responsible for strategic planning, and have an MBA, I bring a practical approach to the handling of M&A and capital raise transactions. Lawyers need to understand the business goals and structure a transaction that meets those goals to the benefit of the client.
I have also been recognized as a leading lawyer in the 2021 edition of Massachusetts Super Lawyers magazine, a part of the leading legal publisher Thomson Reuters.
Did you have to overcome any challenges as part of the transaction?
We needed to solve tax and corporate law issues that we faced as a result of different ownership structures of the three companies acquired and the multiple countries in which they were located.
