Cinven, KKR, Warburg to place second-round bids for PRA

Private equity firms Cinven Ltd, KKR & Co and Warburg Pincus are weighing bids for independent clinical research firm, PRA International, which could fetch its owner Genstar Capital as much as $1.3 billion, Reuters yesterday reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The private equity firms are among the suitors preparing to submit second-round bids later in June for PRA, the report said.

Genstar, which acquired PRA in 2007 for $797 million, had earlier this year put the company on the block and is also considering an initial public offering for PRA should the auction failed to meet its price expectations, the report added.

Founded in 1976, North Carolina-based PRA conducts clinical trial services and other research for pharmaceutical companies.

It offers laboratory and clinical, bioanalytical laboratory, late phase and minimal risk, safety and risk management, and therapeutic services.

It has conducted the pivotal or supportive trials that led to the US Food and Drug Administration and/or international regulatory approval of 40+ drugs marketed across several therapeutic areas.

PRA International operates a state-of-the-art, GLP-compliant Bioanalytical Laboratory, located in Assen, the Netherlands, which provides pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analyses, including endogenous compounds and biomarkers.

The laboratory has an excellent 24-year record in ioanalytical activities, with over 2,400 studies executed. It includes facilities for mass spectrometry, high/ultra high performance liquid chromatography, biochemistry and immunochemistry, genotyping, radioisotope analysis and handling of biohazard samples.