Genstar Capital has agreed to sell its portfolio company, eResearch Technology (ERT), a provider of patient data collection services used in clinical drug development, to Nordic Capital.
Genstar acquired ERT in 2012 for approximately $400 million in a take-private transaction. During its term of ownership Genstar closed three add-on acquisitions with the buys of Invivodata in July 2012, eClinical Insights in November 2014, and PHT Corporation in May 2015.
Today, ERT’s services and products are used to collect, analyze and report on clinical data used to determine the health outcomes that are critical to the approval, labeling and reimbursement of pharmaceutical products. Customers of ERT include biopharmaceutical sponsors and contract research organizations. The company is led by CEO Jim Corrigan and is headquartered in Philadelphia (www.ert.com).
“ERT was a strong company when we acquired it, yet to make it even stronger we built upon its robust internal software and data capabilities and successfully completed three transformative acquisitions,” said Roman Margolin, Principal of Genstar. “We also were able to recruit a number of exceptional leaders to the company, including Jim Corrigan as CEO. Combined with meaningful growth initiatives developed in concert with Jim and his management team, sales for ERT were dramatically enhanced.”
“Genstar had a deep understanding of ERT’s markets, mission, and value, and their strategic guidance contributed greatly to our ongoing growth and development,” said Mr. Corrigan. “ERT has supported over 50% of all new drug approvals in the past three years and we remain committed to providing solutions which are transformational and will benefit the global studies in which we are involved.”
Genstar, which had a final close in August 2015 of its seventh fund with $2 billion in commitments, invests from $50 million to $400 million in middle-market companies that have enterprise values from $50 million to $1 billion and EBITDAs greater than $15 million. Genstar targets investments in the financial services, software, industrial technology, and healthcare industries. The firm was founded in 1988 and is based in San Francisco (www.gencap.com).
“We are very pleased with the successful outcome of this investment which was achieved in large part by our ability to drive change in a sector in which we have deep industry expertise,” said Jean-Pierre Conte, Chairman and Managing Director of Genstar. “In the most competitive private equity environment ever, Genstar’s investment strategy continues to produce superior returns.”
Nordic Capital, the buyer of ERT, invests in mid-market companies across a range of industries in northern Europe and in other select investment opportunities, largely in the healthcare sector, internationally. The firm’s most recent fund is Nordic Capital Fund VIII with EUR 3.5 billion in committed capital (www.nordiccapital.com).
“Nordic Capital’s ambition is to support ERT’s executive management team to further develop the company by growing in both existing and adjacent market segments,” said Jonas Agnblad, Partner, NC Advisory, advisor to the Nordic Capital Funds.
Jefferies (www.jefferies.com) was the financial advisor to ERT. The sale of ERT to Nordic is expected to close by the end of the second quarter.
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 3-8-16
