Advent Takes 50% Stake in Biopharma Services Co. InVentiv
Advent International has agreed to make a sizable investment in inVentiv Health that values the biopharmaceutical services provider at around $3.8 billion, the private equity firm said Monday, a deal that means inVentiv will forgo its previously planned initial public offering.
Advent’s previously rumored investment makes it and Thomas H. Lee Partners equal equity owners of inVentiv Health, a subsidiary of inVentiv Group Holdings Inc., according to a statement. The exact size of the stake acquired by Advent wasn't explicitly disclosed, although a report from Bloomberg said it was 50 percent.
InVentiv Health aims to help the biopharmaceutical industry bring its therapies and treatments to market faster.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close during the fourth quarter. With Advent joining Thomas H. Lee as a financial backer, inVentiv Health has decided to axe IPO plans. It had filed for a $100 million IPO in April.
Michael Bell, chairman and CEO of inVentiv Health, said in the statement that the financial backing of Thomas H. Lee and Advent will allow the company to continue to grow and reach its full potential.
"We're pleased to have two preeminent private equity firms — THL and Advent — backing our unique biopharma outsourcing model," Bell said. "It's a $250 billion market with tremendous potential.”
John Maldonado, a managing director at Advent, called inVentiv Health a market leader, saying in a statement of his own that the firm is “excited” to partner with Thomas H. Lee and inVentiv’s “world-class management team at this point in the company’s evolution.”
"We have long viewed the large and growing pharmaceutical outsourcing industry as one of the most attractive segments in health care,” Maldonado added. “InVentiv Health is transforming into a global, full-service professional services organization that is uniquely positioned to serve its clients' variety of needs and we believe that the company's expertise, combined with our operational resources and THL's continued involvement, will enable inVentiv Health's continued success moving forward."
InVentiv Health provides an array of outsourced services to biopharmaceutical companies, including clinical research and commercial organization. The company's client portfolio includes all 20 of the largest global biopharmaceutical companies, and the services provider says that it has helped to develop or commercialize 80 percent of all new drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and 70 percent of those approved by the European Medicines Agency.
Goldman Sachs & Co., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Morgan Stanley and Citi acted as financial advisers for inVentiv Health and Thomas H. Lee, and the deal is supported by committed financing from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Barclays. BofA Merrill Lynch and Barclays also acted as financial advisers to Advent.
A Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP team featuring New York partners Michael Aiello and Sachin Kohli acted as legal adviser to inVentiv Health and Thomas H. Lee.
Advent was advised by a Kirkland & Ellis LLP team led by corporate partners Douglas Ryder, Jeffrey Seifman and Joshua Soszynski and associates Patrick Jacobs and Thomas Lee; debt finance partners Jay Ptashek and Nicholas Schwartz; capital markets partner Ross Leff; litigation partners Matthew Solum and William Pruitt and associate Samara Penn; tax partner Rachel Cantor and tax associate Adam Kool; and executive compensation partner Michael Krasnovsky.
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