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Gustavo Akkerman

Special Counsel

New York +1 212 841 1005

  • About
  • Representative Matters
  • Credentials
  • About

    Gustavo Akkerman advises clients in a broad range of domestic and cross-border merger and acquisition transactions, including public and private, ranging from strategic product acquisitions, division divestitures and joint ventures to large company sales and acquisitions.

    Gustavo is a dual-licensed attorney in New York and Brazil, leveraging from his life experience growing up and previously practicing law in Brazil to counsel clients in navigating the Latin American business and legal environments.

    Gustavo represents both U.S. and international clients, including in the life sciences, technology, media, energy, and financial services industries.

    Best Lawyers has named Gustavo on its “Ones to Watch” list for M&A (2024). He was also named as a Rising Legal Star by Latinvex (2021) and Latino Leaders Magazine (2023). and recognized in the Legal 500 for Corporate and M&A in Latin America (2020 and 2024).

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters
    • UCB in its:
      • $2.5 billion acquisition of Ra Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: RARX);
      • $1.9 billion acquisition of Zogenix (Nasdaq: ZGNX); and
      • acquisition of Engage Therapeutics for consideration of up to $270 million.
    • Oxford Immunotec (Nasdaq: OXFD) in:
      • its $591 million acquisition by PerkinElmer; and
      • the $170 million sale of its U.S. laboratory services business to Quest Diagnostics.
    • General Electric in:
      • the establishment of joint ventures in Brazil and the United States for the manufacture and commercialization of power transformers; and
      • the sale of its stake in Distributed Solar Development to a fund affiliated with BlackRock.
    • FlixMobility on its acquisition of the iconic Greyhound Lines, the largest provider of long-distance bus transportation in the U.S.
    • Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease, in its up to $1.0 billion acquisition and license of Pfizer’s early-stage rare disease gene therapy portfolio, plus tiered royalties on sales.
    • Selecta Biosciences in its combination with Cartesian Therapeutics (Nasdaq: RNAC).
    • TRC Companies (NYSE: TRR), an engineering, environmental consulting and construction management firm, in its $595 million acquisition by New Mountain Capital.
    • Astellas in its $384 million acquisition of Ocata Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OCAT).

    • Graham Holdings in its $323 million acquisition of Leaf Group (NYSE: LEAF).
    • NewAmsterdam Pharma in its $796 million de-SPAC merger with Frazier Lifesciences Acquisition Corporation.
    • LanzaTech in its $2.2 billion de-SPAC merger with AMCI Acquisition Corp. II.
    • Humacyte in its $800 million de-SPAC merger with Alpha Healthcare Acquisition Corp.
    • Grupo Bursátil Mexicano (GBM) in connection with SoftBank Latin America Fund’s investment of up to $150 million into a subsidiary of GBM, valuing GBM’s operating holdings at more than $1 billion.
    • Allergan in:
      • various company acquisitions and product divestitures; and
      • the $500 million sale of its Anda distribution business to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.
    • Johnson & Johnson in various company and product acquisitions.
    • Novo Nordisk in its acquisition of a Priority Review Voucher from Marinus Pharmaceuticals.
    • Stryker in its $716 million acquisition of NOVADAQ Technologies (Nasdaq: NVDQ; TSX: NDQ).
    • GSK in its acquisition of ex-U.S. rights relating to the Quell wearable pain relief technology from NeuroMetrix.
    • Northern Biologics in the sale of its preclinical cancer antibody pipeline to Boehringer Ingelheim.
    • ITOCHU in the sale of PrimeSource Building Products, a North American distributor of building materials, to Platinum Equity.
    • Reliance Industries Limited in the combination of its JioMusic digital music service with Saavn, a global music streaming platform.
    • Medium (medium.com) in its acquisition of Embed.ly.
    • Assurant in its acquisition of Mobile Defense, a technology company focused on mobile device diagnostics and data processing for user assistance and predictive forecasting.
    • Merck on the multi-year post-merger integration of Schering-Plough in certain Latin American countries, and on the post-merger integration of Cubist Pharmaceuticals and Idenix Pharmaceuticals.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Credentials
    Education
    • Stanford Law School, LL.M., 2013
    • Escola de Direito de São Paulo da Fundação Getúlio Vargas, LL.B., 2009
        • Valedictorian
    Bar Admissions
    • Brazil
    • New York
    Languages
    • Portuguese
    • Spanish
    Accolades
    • Best Lawyers Magazine, "Ones to Watch," M&A (2024)
    • Legal 500, Corporate and M&A in Latin America (2020 and 2024)
    • Latino Leaders Magazine, "Rising Stars" (2023)
    • Latinvex, "Rising Legal Star" (2021)

    Areas of Expertise

News and Insights

Events