Biogen’s $5.6 Billion Acquisition of Apellis

On March 31, 2026, Biogen Inc. and Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Biogen has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Apellis for $41.00 per share in cash at closing, or approximately $5.6 billion. Apellis stockholders will also receive a nontransferable CVR for each Apellis share held, entitling the holder to receive two payments of $2 per share each, contingent on certain annual global net sales thresholds being met for SYFOVRE®. Cravath is representing Biogen in connection with the transaction.

The Cravath team is led by partners Aaron M. Gruber, Bethany A. Pfalzgraf and Ryan J. Wichtowski and includes associates Gene Choi, Elise Zhou, Jerry A. Zhu, Jessica Early, Rohan Sagar Naik and Joel K. Adu-Quaye on M&A matters; of counsel Kathryn-Ann Stamm and associates M. Noa Ma and Sarah R. Brathwaite on intellectual property matters; partner Jonathan J. Katz, senior attorney Aaron S. Cha and associate Matthew S. Johnson on executive compensation and benefits matters; partner Lauren Angelilli and associate Frederick Schemel on tax matters; partner Margaret T. Segall and associate Lavinia M. Hecht on antitrust matters; and partner Matthew Morreale, of counsels Annmarie M. Terraciano and Joyce Law and senior attorney Lauren Piechocki on environmental and real estate matters. Crawford Rundlett also worked on M&A matters, and Yasmeen Shrestha worked on tax matters.