Acquisitions and investments in knowledge-intensive companies with patent-protected inventions and other intellectual property require specialist expertise. Advokatbyrån Gulliksson and Ström & Gulliksson have for a long time worked daily with these issues and have now chosen to deepen the previous co-operation by creating a joint transaction group.
– Today’s market is changing and transactions are becoming increasingly complex. For investments in or the purchase/sale of IP-heavy companies, it is becoming increasingly common to require cutting-edge expertise in transactional law supplemented with deep knowledge of intellectual property rights and experience in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of patent rights, says Victor Olsson Fekadu, European Patent Attorney at Ström & Gulliksson, who together with Mikaela Gisslén and Håkan Hallström, Associate and Partner respectively at Advokatbyrån Gulliksson, is part of the newly formed transaction group.
– A well-thought-out intellectual property strategy in combination with a well-planned corporate and ownership strategy are often key factors in finding investors, as well as in the choice to invest. The joint transaction group strengthens the conditions for contributing the greatest possible business benefits for our clients and thus our competitiveness, adds Niklas Hellsten, Senior Associate at Gulliksson’s Stockholm office.
– In general, the company’s intellectual property rights are an important part to take into account in connection with business transfers and investments, adds Mikaela Gisslén.
She also emphasises the importance of having a well-balanced strategy from the start and that founders make careful preparations for an exit.
– This is crucial to ensure a successful and profitable transition. A well-thought-out exit strategy with the right measures and at the right time helps to increase the value of the company. One of the goals of our transaction group is therefore to strengthen our clients’ positions in advance in negotiations with potential buyers and investors.
In many companies, a large part of the value lies in their existing patents and the future business opportunities they represent. Identifying potential for improvement therefore requires specialist expertise in patents, which we at Ström & Gulliksson can offer regardless of the area of technology, says Victor Olsson Fekadu.
Victor Olsson Fekadu adds that a well thought-out patent strategy results in patent protection that provides increased business value. In business transfers and investments, it is important to review the company’s patent portfolio and to evaluate weaknesses and strengths in order to give the buyer or seller an idea of the company’s commercial value.
Gulliksson already works both broadly and deeply with the entire process of business transfers and investments. With extensive experience of due diligence processes, contract negotiations and financing issues, Gulliksson represents both buyers and sellers, founders and investors.
– Gulliksson has broad experience of different types of transactions in many different industries and sectors. Corporate acquisitions, mergers and restructurings all have different requirements, not least when it comes to companies with significant intellectual property values. Here we see a great advantage that we can quickly and easily complement our knowledge with Ström & Gulliksson’s expertise, says Mikaela Gisslén.
Together, the firms look forward to taking on complex mergers and acquisitions as well as typical venture capital assignments.
– We can meet the high demands on project management, tactical negotiation, documentation and specialist expertise required and it is therefore also a natural step to work more closely with Ström & Gulliksson’s patent attorneys, says Håkan Hallström, who in the future will not only lead Advokatbyrån Gulliksson’s transaction group but also the joint transaction group.
Victor Olsson Fekadu, who will lead the work from Ström and Gulliksson’s side, also looks to the future with confidence.
– We put together the right team based on what the individual transactions require. By working cross-functionally between the companies, we can ensure a qualitative delivery. Gulliksson’s business specialist have different specialities and experience from different sectors and industries, just as our patent attorneys have cutting-edge expertise in different areas of technology, says Victor Olsson Fekadu.
The transaction team at Ström & Gulliksson and Advokatbyrån Gulliksson consists of:
Mikaela Gisslén, Associate, Advokatbyrån Gulliksson.
Håkan Hallström, Senior Associate and Partner, Advokatbyrån Gulliksson, responsible for and leading the joint transaction group.
Alice Frost, Associate, Advokatbyrån Gulliksson
Emma Johansen, Associate, Advokatbyrån Gulliksson
Niklas Hellsten, Senior Associate, Advokatbyrån Gulliksson
Victor Olsson Fekadu, European Patent Attorney and Authorised Swedish Patent Attorney, Ström & Gulliksson
Sofia Willquist, European Patent Attorney, Authorised Swedish Patent Attorney and European Patent Litigator, Ström & Gulliksson
Nastasia Andersson, Patent Consultant, Ström & Gulliksson
Gulliksson’s and Ström & Gulliksson’s transaction team offers advice and expertise on the following:
Corporate acquisitions
Investments
Negotiations
Due diligence
Examination of existing patents
Valuation of pending patent applications
Investment agreements, share transfer agreements and shareholders’ agreements
Joint venture agreements
Advokatbyrån Gulliksson was developed as part of Advokatbyrån Ström & Gulliksson – the only combined law and patent firm in Sweden. The business concept from the start in 1975 was to integrate business law and intellectual property law in order to offer a complete and distinctly commercial service for the protection, development and commercialization of our clients’ most important assets. The law firm became a separate company in 2001 – Advokatbyrån Gulliksson – and Ström & Gulliksson became a pure patent agency. The unique co-operation between the companies has continued since then, reinforced by the close proximity of offices in all locations where we operate. Our history and special background form the basis of who we are today – a leading firm in the field of intellectual property law with a complete range of services in both intellectual property law and business law. It is a position that we are now nurturing in order to continue to be the primary choice for the knowledge-intensive company and to attract the best lawyers to our team.
