Warburg Pincus to buy clinical trial outsourcing firm ReSearch for $227 million

Private equity firm Warburg Pincus yesterday agreed to buy clinical trial outsourcing firm ReSearch Pharmaceutical Services Inc for about $227 million, in cash.

Based in Pennsylvania, US, ReSearch is a global clinical research company that manages clinical trials for pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies, including finding the right site, hiring staff, recruiting patients, collecting data, providing statistical analysis and writing reports.

It also enters into partnerships with bio-pharmaceutical companies in clinical trial and in-house development programmes, and late-stage marketing of drugs.

ReSearch, with 2009 revenues of $200 million, operates in the US, France, Germany and Spain and employs 2,500 people.

New York-based Warburg Pincus, with more than $30 billion in assets under management, will pay $6.10 per share in cash to ReSearch shareholders, valuing the company at around $227.3 million.

"In Warburg Pincus we have found a partner with both the financial strength and relevant industry experience to enable us to accelerate the execution of our growth strategy," said Daniel Perlman, chairman and CEO of ReSearch.

ReSearch said that it intends to continue advancing its current strategy under the leadership of its existing management team. In addition, the company, together with its new financial partner Warburg Pincus, will look for opportunities to accelerate its growth through the development of enhanced service offerings and expanded international capabilities.

ReSearch will pay Warburg Pincus a termination fee of $10 million and the private equity firm may have to pay a reverse fee of $40 million if it decides to terminate the merger agreement.