Herbert Smith Freehills has advised UDG Healthcare Corporation, a subsidiary of Dublin-based UDG Healthcare plc, on its joint venture with Tokyo-headquartered CMIC Holdings.

The joint venture company-CMIC Ashfield Co., Ltd.-will primarily service the Japanese Contract Sales Organisation (CSO) market, combining the expertise of one of the leading international CSOs with the local knowledge and capabilities of  one of Japan's leading CSOs.

The deal sees UDG acquire a 49.9% stake in CMIC MPSS from CMIC Holdings to create the new venture, formalizing the existing partnership which began between UDG and CMIC in 2012.

Herbert Smith Freehills acted as lead counsel for UDG, and was responsible for leading on the drafting and negotiation of the transaction. The Herbert Smith Freehills team on the deal was led by Tokyo Corporate Practice Head Graeme Preston, who was supported by senior associate Joseph Fisher and associate Richard Taylor. The firm worked alongside local Japanese firm Nagashima Ohno & Tsune matsu on the deal.

Graeme commented:

"The formalization of UDG and CMIC's partnership further strengthens their CSO offering in Japan and is in line with UDG's strategy of expanding in growth markets. We were delighted to have assisted on closing the deal within the tight deadline set by the two parties and the deal team from UDG (Liam Logue and Greg Flynn) were a pleasure to work with. The pharmaceutical industry in Japan has been globalising quite rapidly; consequently, international competition in the medical sales support business has also increased. We have a good number of deals in the pipeline and expect to see more activity in the pharmaceutical sector in Japan in the coming months."