Morrison Foerster Selected for Three 2024 Deals of the Year by China Business Law Journal 

Morrison Foerster has been awarded three China Business Law Journal’s Deals of the Year awards for 2024 in the Privatisation, Biopharmaceuticals, and Licensing categories. The annual Deals of the Year awards highlight the year’s most significant China-related deals and cases based on overall significance, complexity, and innovative nature.

1. MoFo advised long-time client Ascendent Capital Partners (“Ascendent”) on its acquisition of Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd. (“Hollysys”), a leading automation control system solutions provider in China. The acquisition, which was announced on December 11, 2023, and completed on July 25, 2024, through an all-cash transaction, valued Hollysys at approximately US$1.66 billion.
2. MoFo advised Ensem Therapeutics, Inc. (“ENSEM”), a biotechnology company focusing on high‑value and difficult-to-drug oncology targets, on its partnership with BeiGene, Ltd. (“BeiGene”), a global biotechnology company, for BeiGene to acquire an exclusive global license to an Investigational New Drug (IND) application-ready oral cyclin‑dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) inhibitor. Under the terms of the agreement, ENSEM will receive an upfront payment and be eligible for additional payments upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, totaling up to US$1.33 billion, in addition to tiered royalties.
3. Mofo advised Nuvation Bio Inc., a late-stage, global biopharmaceutical company tackling some of the greatest unmet needs in oncology by developing differentiated and novel therapeutic candidates, on intellectual property matters pertaining to the acquisition of AnHeart Therapeutics Ltd. (“AnHeart”), a late-stage, global biopharmaceutical company developing novel precision therapies for people with cancer. With the acquisition’s completion, AnHeart is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Nuvation Bio.

China Business Law Journal’s Deals of the Year awards are based on a thorough annual review of the legal markets. They take into account factors including overall significance, complexity, innovative nature, and deal size.

See the complete list of winning deals.