Quintiles' recent global buying spree has made it the largest provider of clinical trial services, and now the company is said to be mulling an IPO worth billions.
Bloomberg's sources say Quintiles, owned by Bain Capital and TPG Capital, is studying the prospect of going public, and the company was most recently valued around $3.8 billion.
Putting the pieces together, the news service points out that Quintiles has lined itself up to make a big splash on the Street. The CRO has been snapping up smaller outfits and Big Pharma partnerships of late, bringing in $3.5 billion over the past 12 months and growing its workforce to 25,000 in 60 countries. Quintiles brought in CEO Tom Pike, a veteran from IT consulting giant Accenture ($ACN), in April.
"I view the fact that they have a new CEO now as potentially a sign that they're preparing their next leg of growth or next strategy, which could include an IPO," Moody's analyst Jessica Gladstone told Bloomberg. "An IPO could also be a way to reduce leverage and an exit strategy for the owners."
As FierceBiotech points out, burgeoning profits in the CRO world have attracted private equity attention over the past few years, and the industry has seen a wave of consolidation. In that context, it comes as little surprise that Quintiles might want to cash in to the tune of billions as it continues its rapid growth.
- read FierceBiotech's report
- check out Bloomberg's take