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Thomas H. Lee’s InVentiv Said to Pursue Sale as Well as IPO
InVentiv Group Holdings Inc., the health-care company backed by Thomas H. Lee Partners that filed for an initial public offering in April, is now also pursuing an outright sale, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The company and its advisers are having active discussions with potential strategic and private equity acquirers, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Exploring a sale while planning to go public, known as a dual-track process, is a way for owners to gauge the best way to exit an investment.
A number of sponsor-backed companies recently have decided to take advantage of the process, in part because U.S. equity markets have been volatile this year, putting pressure on IPO valuations. A sale allows the private equity firm to lock in a price for its stake, while a public listing allows the sponsor to maintain some ownership.
This month, Bain Capital-backed Blue Coat Systems Inc. agreed to be acquired by Symantec Corp. for about $4.65 billion in cash instead of going public. The company, which filed its initial prospectus on June 2, had been planning to list its shares this summer in an IPO that would have valued the company at about $3.5 billion, according to people familiar with the situation.
A representative for Thomas H. Lee declined to comment, while representatives for InVentiv didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Thomas H. Lee Partners acquired InVentiv, which provides clinical development and commercialization services to bio-pharmaceutical companies, in 2010 for about $1.1 billion. InVentiv filed its prospectus in April with an initial deal size of $100 million, a placeholder amount used to calculate fees.
InVentiv narrowed its net loss to $150.6 million last year from $188.8 million in 2014, according to company filings. Sales were $2.3 billion in 2015, up 12 percent.
Credit Suisse Group AG and Morgan Stanley are managing the IPO, filings show. A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley declined to comment, while a representative for Credit Suisse didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
