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Michael J. Riella advises clients, principally in the life sciences, health care, gaming, media and technology industries, in a broad range of strategic and financing transactions and in general corporate and securities matters.
Mr. Riella works with clients ranging from development stage companies to large public companies in connection with mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, joint venture arrangements, securities offerings and financing and licensing transactions. He also advises clients on general corporate and securities matters, including federal securities law compliance, corporate governance and executive compensation arrangements.
- Aristocrat Leisure Limited in its:
- $1.28 billion acquisition of Video Gaming Technologies; and
- $990 million acquisition of Big Fish Games.
- AstraZeneca in its:
- $1.26 billion acquisition of Ardea Biosciences;
- $600 million acquisition of Actavis’ branded respiratory business in the U.S. and Canada;
- $575 million acquisition of Takeda’s respiratory business;
- acquisition of AlphaCore Pharma by MedImmune, AstraZeneca's biologic arm; and
- divestitures of multiple pharmaceutical products, including its $325 million divestiture of Myalept® to Aegerion Pharmaceuticals.
- Ben Venue Laboratories, a member of the Boehringer Ingelheim Group, in its $300 million sale of Bedford Laboratories to Hikma Pharmaceuticals.
- Eisai Inc. in its:
- strategic manufacturing alliance with Biogen and subsequent sale of its Research Triangle Park manufacturing campus to Biogen;
- $205 million acquisition of four oncology drugs from Ligand Pharmaceuticals; and
- divestitures of multiple pharmaceutical products, including its divestiture of U.S. rights to Zonegran® to Concordia Pharmaceuticals, its divestiture of U.S. and Canada rights to Targretin® Gel and Targretin® Capsules to Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
- Insmed Incorporated in its public offerings of $402.5 million of common stock and $450 million of convertible senior notes.
- HealthSouth Corporation in multiple offerings of senior notes.
- ExxonMobil in structuring and forming the Marine Well Containment Company, a joint venture with Chevron, Shell and ConocoPhillips dedicated to developing and, if needed, deploying, a rapid response system to capture and contain oil in the event of a future deepwater well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.
- The Procter & Gamble Company in its 50/50 joint venture with Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. for the development, manufacturing, marketing and sale of existing and to-be-developed consumer diagnostic products in a transaction valued at $650 million.
- Nine television station groups in structuring and forming Pearl Mobile DTV; and Pearl Mobil DTV in structuring and forming Mobile Content Venture LLC, a joint venture among Pearl, Fox Entertainment Group, ION Media Networks and NBC Universal Media LLC.
- LIN Media in its:
- issuance of $200 million of senior notes; and
- acquisition of Red McCombs Media, an online advertising company.
- Kamylon Capital in its sale of Forgitron Technologies to Accuride Corporation.
- JLG Industries in its sale of Gradall Industries.
- Several NYSE and Nasdaq-listed companies in connection with securities disclosure and corporate governance matters.
- The D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission in connection with stadium development and lease arrangements with Major League Baseball and the Washington Nationals.
Pro Bono
- Advises multiple nonprofit organizations in the DC metropolitan area regarding governance, strategic planning, commercial and general corporate matters.
- Advises a multinational nonprofit relief organization regarding corporate governance matters.
Memberships and Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- The District of Columbia Bar
- Virginia Bar Association
December 14, 2018
WASHINGTON—Covington advised Merck & Co., Inc. on its acquisition of Antelliq Group for approximately €2.1 billion ($2.4 billion) plus the assumption of €1.15 billion of debt. Antelliq will be wholly owned and separately operated subsidiary within the Merck Animal Health Division. Antelliq is an animal intelligence group focused on animal identification, ...
August 9, 2018
WASHINGTON—Covington advised Emergent BioSolutions in its $270 million acquisition of PaxVax. PaxVax is majority owned by an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management. Emergent is a global life sciences company focusing on providing specialty products for civilian and military populations that address public health threats. PaxVax is a company focused on ...
November 30, 2017
WASHINGTON—Covington represented Aristocrat Leisure Limited in its $990 million acquisition of Big Fish Games, Inc. This acquisition expands Aristocrat’s Social Gaming business into new game genres. Aristocrat is a global provider of gaming solutions. It offers a diverse range of products and services including electronic gaming machines and casino management ...
December 17, 2015
LONDON, 17 December, 2015 — Covington advised AstraZeneca on its acquisition of Takeda’s respiratory business. Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will make a payment of $575 million, and approximately 200 staff will transfer to AstraZeneca upon completion. The deal will include the expansion of rights to roflumilast (marketed as Daliresp in the ...
February 18, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC, February 18, 2015 — The BTI Consulting Group has named Covington & Burling partners David Martin, Keith Noreika, Jeannie Perron, Michael Riella, and Peter Schwartz to its 2015 “Client Service All-Stars” list for demonstrating “superior client focus, innovative thought leadership, unmatched business understanding, and outstanding results.” BTI is ...
Covington Advises AstraZeneca on Acquisition of Rights to Actavis' Branded Respiratory Portfolio
February 5, 2015
LONDON, 5 February, 2014 — Covington advised AstraZeneca on its acquisition of the rights to Actavis' branded respiratory business in the US and Canada for an initial consideration of $600 million on completion and low single-digit royalties above a certain revenue threshold. Upon completion of the transaction, AstraZeneca will own the development and ...
July 8, 2014, Bloomberg
Catherine Dargan, Mike Riella, Deb Garza, John Gourary, Andrea Reister, Rob Heller, Mike Francese and Kerry Burke are mentioned regarding their representation of Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. "Covington & Burling LLP advised Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. (ALL), which agreed to buy Video Gaming Technologies Inc. for about $1.3 billion to triple its North American business ...
Covington Promotes 15 Lawyers to Partnership
October 1, 2012
WASHINGTON, DC, October 1, 2012 — Covington & Burling is pleased to announce that it has elected 15 new lawyers to its partnership. This group is comprised of diverse and talented individuals from five offices who have made their mark at the firm through exceptional work and the highest standards of client service. “We’re delighted to welcome these 15 lawyers to ...
April 23, 2012
WASHINGTON, DC, April 23, 2012 — Covington & Burling represented AstraZeneca in its $1.26 billion acquisition of Ardea Biosciences. Under the agreement, AstraZeneca will pay $32 per share for all of the outstanding shares of Ardea. AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and ...
April 12, 2010
WASHINGTON, DC, April 12, 2010 — LIN TV Corp., a local television and multimedia company, has announced the private placement by its wholly owned subsidiary, LIN Television Corporation, of $200 million of its 8 3/8% Senior Notes due 2018 (the “Notes”). Net proceeds from the sale of the Notes are expected to be used to repay outstanding amounts under LIN ...
1/28/2008
WASHINGTON, DC, January 28, 2008 — LX Networks LLC, a leading producer of local television and broadband video programming under the LX.TV name, has been acquired by the NBC Local Media Division of NBC Universal. The announcement was made today. Covington & Burling LLP advised LX Networks in the deal. Founded in 2006 and based in New York, LX’s programming ...
Covington Advises Procter & Gamble in Consumer Diagnostic Products Joint Venture with Inverness
May 18, 2007
NEW YORK, NY, May 18, 2007 — The Procter & Gamble Company and Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. announced that they have completed their previously announced deal to form a 50/50 joint venture for the development, manufacturing, marketing and sale of existing and to-be-developed consumer diagnostic products. Inverness contributed its related consumer ...
12/08/2006
WASHINGTON, DC, December 8, 2006 — The Washington Post Company and 1105 Media, Inc. announced today that they have reached an agreement under which 1105 Media will acquire The Post’s government publishing and events group, which is known as Post Newsweek Tech Media. Post Newsweek Tech Media includes Government Computer News, Washington Technology, Government ...
Covington Represents Eisai In $205 Million Acquisition of Four Oncology-Related Products
9/13/2006
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 13, 2006 — Covington represented both Eisai Co., Ltd. and Eisai Inc. in the recent $205 million product acquisition agreement with Ligand Pharmaceuticals. Eisai obtained exclusive global rights to four products, including ONTAK®, Targretin® capsules, Targretin® 1% gel and Panretin® 0.1% gel. This acquisition will help to ...
- Legal 500 US, Finance - Capital Markets and M&A/Corporate and Commercial (2017)
- BTI Client Service All-Star, Corporate (2015)
- Washington DC Super Lawyers "Rising Star" (2013-2017)