James Baillieu

I'm a corporate partner based in London where I advise clients – ranging from start-ups to multinationals as well as venture capital and private equity funds – on mergers and acquisitions (and divestitures), securities transactions, private equity and venture capital investments/exits, joint ventures and corporate reorganisations.

I have extensive experience advising clients in a variety of sectors, with a particular emphasis on the life sciences and healthcare, technology, media and telecoms and retail and consumer sectors. Many of the transactions I advise on are in cutting-edge sub-sectors – which oftentimes require specialist legal expertise from experts across the firm – such as artificial intelligence (AI), biotech, blockchain, cyber, deep tech, health-tech, medical devices, quantum computing, software and robotics, among others.

You'll find me ranked in the Legal 500 UK 2024 legal directory as a Next Generation Partner in both the fields of Venture Capital and Life Sciences and Healthcare. I also advised on a number of transactions which helped the firm to win both the EMEA M&A Law Firm of the Year and the EMEA Venture Capital Law Firm of the Year awards at the LMG Life Sciences Awards EMEA 2023 in July 2023.

Clients retain me for my 20 years of experience and successful track record of executing transactions, as well as my focus on providing clients with pragmatic and commercial advice. Many of the transactions I am involved in are international in nature and I therefore have significant experience in solving complex cross-border legal issues and bridging cultural differences.

I am admitted as a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales and the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in the British Virgin Islands and I hold an LL.B. in Law with Economics from Durham University. I also serve on the Finance and Tax Advisory Committee of the BioIndustry Association.

• Life Sciences & Healthcare
• Advised Envision Pharma Group on their acquisition of OKRA.ai, a technology company active in the provision of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for the healthcare industry.
• Advised Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. on the in-licence of and subsequent acquisition of Raxone® – an orphan drug used in the treatment of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy, a rare hereditary eye disease that leads to severe vision loss – from Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG.
• Advised Precision Medicine Group, the provider of drug development and commercialization services, on the acquisition of Makara Health, a healthcare communications agency.
• Advised Merck KGaA, as lead investor, on a series B financing into a UK life sciences company.
• Advised the Dementia Discovery Fund (managed by SV Health Investors) on numerous transactions including: (i) Amphista Therapeutics Limited's series B extension financing; (ii) NeuroGeneus Limited's £12 million series A financing; and (iii) Transine Therapeutics Limited's £9.1 million seed financing.
• Advised Brandon Capital, Atlas Ventures and Forbion on the US$68M series A financing of Pheon Therapeutics, a UK-based Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) specialist developing next generation ADCs for a wide range of hard-to-treat cancers.
• Advised Omnicell, Inc. on the acquisition of Hub and Spoke Innovations Limited, the distributor of the Pharmaself24 prescription collection kiosk in Great Britain.
• Advised Railpen on its investment in CMR Surgical as part of the US$600 million series D financing led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
• Advised Celltrion, Inc., Mirae Asset Capital and Premier Partners on the US$47 million series A financing of Iksuda Therapeutics Limited, the developer of a new generation of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs).
• Technology, Media and Telecommunications
• Advised Paladin Capital on numerous transactions including: (i) Hack The Box's US$55 million series B financing led by Carlyle; and (ii) Virtuoso's US$13.3m series A financing alongside Mubadala Capital.
• Advised the National Digital Infrastructure Fund on the sale of NextGenAccess Limited, the neutral-host managed fiber infrastructure service provider, to ITS Technology Group, a portfolio company of Aviva.
• Advised Railpen on numerous transactions including their investments in: (i) Gousto (as part of a broader US$170 million secondary placing); and (ii) TransferMate (as part of its US$70M series C financing).
• Retail and Consumer
• Advised BA Glass, one of Europe's leading producers of glass containers for the food and beverage industries, on its acquisition of Recresco Limited, a glass recycling operation based in the UK.
• Advised Pret A Manger on numerous transactions including on a strategic joint venture partnership with Dallas International covering New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
• Advised AU Brandz Co., the Seoul-based fashion group, on the acquisition of Zennar Limited, owner of Rockfish Weatherwear