May 10, 2023 - Economy

Drug trials company Syneos to be acquired for $7.1 billion

Dan Primack

Illustration of a briefcase shaped like a red cross — Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios

Syneos Health, a North Carolina-based biopharma contract research organization, agreed to be taken private for $7.1 billion by an investor group that includes Elliott Investment Management, Patient Square Capital and Veritas Capital.

Why it matters: Private equity firms are once again teaming up for big buyouts, a practice that was largely abandoned after the Great Financial Crisis.

Earlier this week, Advent International and Warburg Pincus agreed to buy Baxter's pharma contract manufacturing business for $4.25 billion.
And it's not just within health care, with firms said to be clubbing up for sandwich shop chain Subway.

Details: Syneos shareholders will receive $43 per share in cash, which represents a 12% premium to Tuesday's closing price and a 24% premium to the Feb. 13 price before new reports that Syneos was seeking a buyer.

Elliott, the activist investment shop founded by Paul Singer, had quietly built a position in Syneos, which switched out its CEO last year.

More, per Reuters: "Syneos has been facing challenges in winning new business, as many of its clients, which include small and medium-sized biotech companies, have cut spending amid difficulties raising funding in a post-COVID-19 market downturn."

Add Axios on Google

Drug trials company Syneos to be acquired for $7.1 billion

What to read next