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Areas of Practice

Industries

Firm Management Positions

Life Sciences, Co-Chair

Medical Device, Co-Chair

Executive Committee, Member

Business and Finance, Vice Chair

Memberships and Affiliations

Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association

Committee Member, Pennsylvania Bio

Committee Member, BioStrategy Partners

Education

J.D., University of Cincinnati College of Law, 1997

  • Order of the Coif
  • Student Articles Editor, University of Cincinnati Law Review

B.A., Furman University, 1989, cum laude

Bar Admission(s)

Photo of Deborah L. Spranger

Deborah L. Spranger

Partner
Chesterbrook
1200 Liberty Ridge Drive, Suite 200
Wayne, PA 19087-5569

Deborah Spranger is vice chair of the Business and Finance Practice and co-chair of the Life Sciences Practice. She concentrates her practice primarily in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and the licensing and commercialization of intellectual property.

General Counsel
Deborah acts as outside General Counsel to a number of technology, life sciences, manufacturing and other companies. In this role, she counsels clients on a wide variety of issues – from formation/organizational matters to incentivizing and retaining employees to sales, licensing and distribution arrangements with customers and suppliers.

Mergers and Acquisitions
Deborah has represented buyers and sellers in numerous acquisitions and dispositions, both large and small. She has also assisted clients in restructuring and streamlining their diversified holdings. 

Venture Capital
Deborah regularly represents companies and investors in angel and venture capital investments.

IP Licensing
In the area of intellectual property licensing, Deborah assists companies in acquiring and commercializing intellectual property assets. She also regularly represents clients in the procurement and implementation of software and other technology.

Community and Professional Involvement
Deborah is an active member of the program committees for both Pennsylvania Bio and BioStrategy Partners. She created the firm’s medical device roundtable series – a series of programs designed to give executives from start-up and growth-stage medical device companies substantive knowledge in areas of interest (including IP, regulatory, reimbursement and funding) as well as a forum to meet and exchange ideas and information. Deborah also is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

Deborah worked in a manufacturing environment for several years before attending law school and brings that practical experience to bear in counseling her clients.

Experience

Mergers and Acquisitions

  • Represented a leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electro-magnetic devices in acquiring a manufacturer of high precision motion controls for approximately $270 million in cash
  • Counseled a large pharmaceutical company in the sale of certain marketed products to two venture-backed companies
  • Assisted an international specialty chemicals company in completing a strategic acquisition of a supplier to the petroleum refining industry for approximately $85 million in cash and assumed debt
  • Guided a privately-held electronic data capture company and its Board of Directors through an acquisition by a public company for a combination of cash and stock
  • On an ongoing basis, represent a family-owned and managed nursing home company in the acquisition of additional facilities with transaction values from $5 to 30 million
  • Assisted a globally-active family-owned capital equipment manufacturer in restructuring its entire US holdings

 Venture Capital

  • Counseled a medical device company in securing a $7 million Series A investment
  • Assisted a venture capital investor in restructuring over $60 million worth of existing investment in the course of completing a follow-on round
  • Prepared an offering memo and collateral documentation for a $100 million real estate investment fund
  • Represented an angel investor group in making over a dozen investments
  • Assisted a nanotechnology company in its efforts to raise $1 million in growth capital

IP Licensing

  • Representing biotechnology and medical device companies in licensing intellectual property from universities and large pharmaceutical companies
  • Representing pharmaceutical companies in out-licensing technologies
  • Negotiating and documenting large-scale software acquisition and implementation transactions with major technology providers in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and financial service industries
  • Negotiating electronic data capture, contract manufacturing, clinical trial and clinical packaging agreements

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