William Robert

William Robert, a partner in Goodwin’s Private Equity and Life Sciences groups, focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, including multi-jurisdictional transactions. He advises sponsors and management on leveraged buyouts and other private equity transactions. He also counsels corporate groups regarding acquisitions, divestments, joint-ventures, and general corporate matters, with a concentration on Life Sciences and Technologies.

Prior to joining Goodwin in 2016, William was a partner at King & Wood Mallesons (formerly SJ Berwin) in Paris. Previously, he practiced at Clifford Chance (Paris and London).

He is fluent in French and English.

William’s recent work include advising:

• Cerba Healthcare, a leading player in medical diagnosis:
  • in the acquisition of Viroclinics-DDL, a fast-growing global virology and immunology contract research organization
  • in the acquisition of Lifebrain, the leading group in Italy in laboratory medicine
  • in welcoming EQT Private Equity as new investor, as Partners Group exits
• Eurazeo, the management and the minority stakeholders of the Orolia group in the signing of an exclusivity agreement with Safran regarding the sale of their majority stake in Orolia, the world leader in Resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) solutions
• IK Partners in the sale of the Colisée group, a leading group of nursing homes and homecare services, to EQT Infrastructure
• Orolia, the world leader in Resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) solutions:
  
  • in the sale to Agiltech of its business of manufacturing and sale of localization and communication maritime beacons for the benefit of commercial fishing fleets or other maritime vessels
  • in the sale to Seas of Solutions of its Maritime Safety Business (including Kannad rescue beacons and McMurdo brand and products)
• Plug Power Inc. in the creation of an hydrogen mobility joint venture Hyvia with Renault Group, the major French player in the automotive industry
• Repligen Corporation in the acquisition of Polymem S.A., a leading industrial expert in the development and manufacture of hollow fiber membranes and modules
• Salsify, Inc. in the acquisition of Alkemics, a Supplier Experience Management platform that helps retailers to engage with their suppliers at every stage of their commercial relationship to better serve consumers
• SparingVision in the acquisition of GAMUT Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing a unique gene-independent approach to treat advanced stages of rod and cone dystrophies

William is recognized for his expertise by preeminent, peer-reviewed publications.

• Ranked as Next Generation Partner in Mergers & Acquisitions by the last edition of the Legal 500 EMEA guide

• Contrôle des investissements étrangers : « La DGT souhaite faire preuve de transparence », Option Finance, January 2022