Fahd Riaz

Fahd Riaz

Partner
Managing Partner, Philadelphia office
Chair, Philadelphia Corporate practice
About

Fahd Riaz focuses his practice on corporate counseling and finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions, partnering, licensing and commercial transactions. His clients range from emerging growth companies to Fortune 50 companies, specifically in industrial, life and physical sciences and technology.

He has served as lead counsel for industrial, life science, and technology companies in a number of large industry transactions, in the United States, Europe, and Asia, including large collaborations and M&A. He uses his skillset, including his technical background as a molecular biologist and former technology industry experience in fulfilling the special business and legal needs of public and private companies as they seek to form joint ventures, partnerships, and other complex collaborations, acquire financing; and execute mergers, acquisitions and licensing transactions.

Related matters include negotiation and drafting of technical contractual arrangements related to the conducting and outsourcing of development, manufacturing and supply, distribution, marketing and promotion. He serves as outside general counsel for clients and advises boards of directors on disclosure issues, corporate communication policies and fiduciary duty matters.

Bar admissionsMassachusettsMichiganNew YorkPennsylvania
CourtsSupreme Court of the United States

EXPERIENCE

M&A Transactions

  • A large industrial company in its roll up various automotive glass companies
  • A large Japanese multinational in its sale and assignment of rights to develop and market certain products in all countries excluding Mexico
  • A privately held company in its sale of all of its assets for an upfront and contingent payments totaling more than US$500 million
  • A multinational company in its sale of its U.S. Subsidiary
  • A multinational company in its acquisition of chemical companies in the United States
  • A company in its sale to private equity for over US$500 million
  • Sale of carbon recapture company to a multinational company
  • Indian-based company in its acquisition of an energy facility in the United States  

Partnering (includes Licensing, Collaboration, Co-Development, and Commercialization)

  • U.S. publicly traded company in a multinational license agreement with a Chinese company with a value of over US$1 billion in milestone and royalty payments
  • Ivy League university in its Research and Development, Collaboration, License and Option Agreement with a multinational company with a value of US$2 billion
  • Japanese pharmaceutical company in a license agreement with a German multinational company
  • U.S. pharmaceutical company in its License and Asset Purchase Agreement with a Swiss multinational
  • U.S. company in its licensing transaction with a Canadian company to commercialize its products in Canada
  • Japanese company in its US$320 million collaboration and development with U.S. multinational company
  • Multinational company in its up to US$440 million Collaboration Agreement with a competitor for the development and commercialization of three products
  • U.S. agriculture company in its development and commercialization of certain of its products in Europe by a French company providing EU41million in upfront and milestone payments
  • U.S. publicly traded company in its royalty monetization deals with another U.S. publicly traded company

General Corporate

  • U.S. publicly traded company in relation to its various research, development and manufacturing agreements
  • Global pharmaceutical corporation in connection with numerous clinical study agreements
  • U.S. pharmaceutical corporation regarding high-volume clinical study agreements and drafting standard clinical trial documentation
  • U.S. publicly traded company in its development of its multinational manufacturing supply chain, including negotiation of its manufacturing and supply agreements with Italian, Japanese, and U.S.-based manufacturing companies
  • U.S. publicly traded company in relation to its various research, development and manufacturing agreements
  • Ivy League university and various national and global companies in drafting and development of their corporate and commercial form agreements
  • Various companies in their corporate development process from formation through public offering and capital markets transactions
Education
  • J.D., Boston University School of Law
  • B.S., Biological Sciences, State University of New York

Awards

Chambers USA

  • Band 4, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia & Surrounds Corporate/M&A & Private Equity (2024)

The Legal 500 United States

  • Recommended, Venture Capital & Emerging Companies (2016)
Additional Awards
  • Listed, Legal Media Group's Life Sciences "Life Sciences Star" – Transactional, in which it described him as someone who "in particular inspired the admiration of clients." (2012–2016)
  • The Philadelphia Business Journal Consultant of the Year (2013)

Seminars

  • Speaker, "Preparing your IP for M&A or Product License: What Savvy Buyers Look For", ACI Conference Life Sciences Collaborative Agreements & Acquisitions, 2012
  • Speaker, "Winning Strategies for Collaborating with Contract Research Organizations that Deliver Superior Results", ACI Conference Life Sciences Collaborative Agreements & Acquisitions, 2013

Prior Experience

Prior to joining DLA Piper, Fahd was a partner at an international law firm. Before attending law school, Fahd was a researcher and worked in the technology industry.

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