Ergomed set to go private in $878m deal with Permira
Private equity firm Permira will pay just over £700 million ($878 million) for UK-based pharmaceutical services company Ergomed.
The deal, terms of which were announced this week, will see the London-listed company become private.
Permira described Ergomed as having a differentiated platform with a strong track record in the pharmacovigilance and clinical research organization (CRO) services.
In an official statement the investor wrote “Ergomed operates in structurally growing markets, benefiting from tailwinds of increasing complexity, regulatory requirements and outsourcing rates.
“Permira believes that Ergomed has built a strong PV business with an excellent reputation for medical and scientific expertise, as well as a specialised CRO business, which is well-positioned to compete in attractive therapeutic areas against mid-sized and large CROs.”
Ergomed has expanded its platform, primarily through takeovers, over the past few years. In 2016, for example, it took over European PharmInvent Services, a provider of pharmacovigilance and regulatory services.
And in 2020 it bought Ashfield Pharmacovigilance, a specialist pharmacovigilance services provider based in Cary in the Research Triangle, North Carolina, US.
More recently, Ergomed acquired Adamas Consulting for just over £25 million ($31.3 million).
Permira acknowledged these deals but said it “believes Ergomed is better able to achieve its long-term growth potential as a private company than as a public company.”
The investor also hinted that Ergomed would continue its M&A activity under its ownership.
“Permira is well positioned to support Ergomed's next phase of growth by investing into the commercial expansion and technological transformation of the business as well as providing, where needed, additional capital to undertake transformational M&A.
This sentiment was echoed by Ergomed chairman Miroslav Reljanović, who told Reuters: "Private ownership by funds advised by Permira, a highly-experienced healthcare investor with a track record of building successful UK-based, global businesses, will allow us to build on the foundations we have created."
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