Dive Brief:
- inVentiv Health Group Holdings, which owns the mega-CRO inVentiv Health, has filed for a $100 million IPO with the SEC. The company has been involved in either the development or commercialization of over 80% of new drugs approved by the FDA in the past five years.
- The proceeds from the proposed offering will be used to pay down the company's $2.2 billion debt, in addition to helping pay for general corporate expenses.
- Some reports have suggested the $100 million figure is an initial placeholder, with Reuters reporting in early March that the IPO could raise about $500 million.
Dive Insight:
inVentiv Health is a powerhouse biopharma contractor, with 14,000 employees, operations in over 90 countries and more than 550 clients, including 20 of the largest multinational pharmaceutical companies.
The company earned a little over $2.3 billion in 2015 revenue, up from around $2 billion in 2014. High operating expenses left only 73.1 million in operating income for 2015, leading to a net loss of $151 million. This is down, however, from a loss of $190 million the year before.
This is inVentiv's second IPO in its 20-year history. It was founded as Synder Healthcare in 1996; went public as Ventiv Health in 1999 (VTIV) and changed its name to inVentiv Health in 2006. The company was subsequently privatized in 2010 when Boston-based Thomas H. Lee Partners acquired it.
The IPO documents indicate inVentiv intends to list on either the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, but no ticker information has been released. Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley will serve as the principal bookrunners for the proposed IPO, along with a bevy of other Wall Street firms.
In a statement, inVentiv said it had not yet determined the number of shares to be offered or the price range, leaving room for the proposed IPO amount to increase.