Quintiles backs away from possible ClinPhone bid

John Carroll — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:34:10 -0400

After flirting with the idea of making a competing offer for ClinPhone, Quintiles Transnational has backed away from the table, giving Parexel a clear path to completing its planned acquisition. Parexel had offered $182 million to seal the deal, saying the bid had been accepted before Quintiles stepped in. The U.K.'s ClinPhone provides software to recruit patients and manage clinical trial data.

"It was worth taking a look," said Quintiles spokesman Dick Jones, who declined to elaborate on why Quintiles decided to back off of the deal. The company will focus now on developing in-house technology. Quintiles is in a joint venture with Thermo Fisher Scientific to develop technology to make trials less expensive.

- read the report from the News & Observer

Parexel, Quintiles may battle for ClinPhone

Maureen Martino — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:07:43 -0400

CRO Parexel has made a $182 million bid for U.K.-based ClinPhone, but it may be facing competition from Quintiles, the world's largest private CRO. ClinPhone helps drug developers select trial participants and track data gathered from clinical trials. "We anticipate that this acquisition will bring the many technologies and capabilities of ClinPhone into the PAREXEL organization and advance our position as a clinical technology leader," said Josef von Rickenbach, CEO of Parexel.

But Quintiles says it would also make a good partner with ClinPhone and, according to a company statement, has discussed the possibility of an offer with ClinPhone's board. "Quintiles believes that the operations of ClinPhone are a strategic fit with Quintiles' clinical research capabilities and confirms that it has been in discussions with the Board of ClinPhone which may or may not lead to an offer being made for ClinPhone." If Quintiles' plans for an acquisition move from a "definite maybe" to a "yes," it's sure to offer more than the $182 million Parexel bid, which represented a 31 percent premium over yesterday's close. Should Parexel's bid win out, the deal is expected to close in September.

- here's the press release on Parexel's offer
- read this report for more on the offer
- check out the article on Quintiles' plans