Dive Brief:
- Private equity firm Advent International will buy a 50% stake in the contract pharmaceutical company inVentiv Health valuing the company at $3.8 billion, inVentiv said Monday. With the investment, Advent will become an equal equity owner of inVentiv, joining Thomas H. Lee Partners.
- Due to Advent's equity investment, inVentiv said it would no longer plan to pursue an initial public offering.
- InVentiv offers both research and commercial contract services to the pharmaceutical industry. Last year, the company pulled in $2.3 billion in revenue but registered a $151 million net loss due to high operating and interest expenses.
Dive Insight:
Based in Burlington, MA, inVentiv Health is a powerhouse biopharma contractor, with 14,000 employees, operations in over 90 countries and more than 550 clients, including all 20 of the largest multinational pharmaceutical companies.
"We’re pleased to have two preeminent private equity firms – THL and Advent – backing our unique biopharma outsourcing model,” said Michael Bell, chief executive officer of inVentiv Health.
“It’s a $250 billion market with tremendous potential. With [Thomas H. Lee Partners'] strategic support we have realized significant growth over the last several years."
The companies expect Advent's investment to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.
Inventiv is one of the larger companies in the burgeoning contract pharmaceutical industry, which has expanded as pharmaceutical companies continue to outsource clinical trials and broaden their external research.
Another major player, Patheon, recently raised $640 million in an IPO on the New York Stock exchange. Patheon is backed by JLL Partners, which also owns the contract research company BioClinica. Reuters reported in May BioClinica was looking into a potential $1.3 billion sale.
Others have been active as well. The Switzerland-based Lonza Group has reportedly been interested in the U.S. company Catalent while the contract research and manufacturer ARMI recently agreed to acquire the API manufacturer Euticals in May for $358 million.