NEWS RELEASE
04 February 2013

Kyiv - DLA Piper Ukraine advised Europe Virgin Fund (EVF), a private equity fund, sponsored by Dragon Capital in set up of a joint venture with Ucrafarma S.A. The parties invested into Lux PHARMA Participations SA, a Luxembourg-based holding company, with Ucrafarma S.A. transferring various pharmaceutical assets including its 95% stake in Sperco Ukraine LLC, one of the top 10 pharmaceutical manufacturers of Ukraine, and EVF providing capital for further development.

DLA Piper provided full legal support to the transaction, including legal due diligence of Ukrainian and Spanish assets, drafting and negotiating transactional documents governed by English, Ukrainian and Spanish law, support of closing of the deal.

DLA Piper team was led by Legal Director Illya Muchnyk under the general supervision of Managing Partner Margarita Karpenko. The significant input was provided by Associates of the Finance & Projects - Dmytro Pshenychnyuk, Maxim Andrianov, Dmytro Lapa and an Associate of Real Estate - Oleg Matiusha.

'We have been looking for an opportunity in the pharmaceutical sector where our investment could add value. Sperco has a solid portfolio of niche-leading products and a strong pipeline. Our capital will now enhance both the production and commercial sides of the business. Jointly with our Spanish partners, we have also strengthened the management. There is a lot of fresh wind and a great ambition to move Sperco Ukraine several notches up,' said Kamil Goca, Managing Director, Head of Private Equity, Dragon Capital

'We gladly handled this complex cross-jurisdictional transaction. This has been the second acquisition of the Fund being supported by our team. We strongly believe that the experience and financial investment of EVF will open new opportunities for Sperko and significantly increase its market share on the Ukrainian and European pharmaceutical markets', said Illya Muchnyk.

DLA Piper has already had a successful experience supporting EVF investments. In particular, in 2011 DLA Piper advised EVF on its investment into Prime Group, a leading Ukrainian outdoor advertising operator.

ENDS

For further information:
Nataliya Tkachenko, Marketing Manager, DLA Piper Ukraine LLC,
Tel: +380 44 490 9579 or Email: natalia.tkachenko@dlapiper.com

Notes to editors:

1. DLA Piper Ukraine LLC is part of DLA Piper, aglobal law firm, operating through various separate and distinct legal entities.  The Kyiv team comprises more than 35 lawyers and is headed by Managing Partner Margarita Karpenko. In 2012 DLA Piper was acknowledged as Foreign Law Firm of the Year in Ukraine (Legal Awards Ceremony).
2. DLA Piper Ukraine LLC is part of DLA Piper, a global law firm with 4200 lawyers located in more than 30 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, positioning it to help companies with their legal needs anywhere in the world.
3. For further information about our organisation and services, please visit our website: www.dlapiper.com. Please follow us on Facebook.