Thermo Fisher to buy CorEvitas for $913m
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. agreed to buy biopharmaceutical data provider CorEvitas from Audax Group, the middle-market private equity firm.
The Waltham-based lab equipment, supplies, and services company agreed to pay $912.5 million in cash, according to a statement on Thursday. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to adjusted earnings per share by 2024 and should be completed by the end of the year, the companies said.
Bloomberg News reported earlier this week that Thermo Fisher had emerged as the leading bidder. Audax has been working with advisers to explore options including a potential sale for CorEvitas and the portfolio company had drawn interest from other pharma services companies and financial sponsors, the people said.
CorEvitas, also based in Waltham, operates nine patient data registries that drug companies and insurance providers use to source granular information about people suffering from various diseases as well as about the safety and effectiveness of treatments. Audax took a stake in CorEvitas, formerly called Corrona LLC, in 2019.
Thermo Fisher gets most of its revenue selling lab equipment, supplies, and services that drug companies and academics use to research, discover, and produce new drugs. It was also a major player in the pandemic as a producer of diagnostic test kits for COVID-19. In 2021 it paid $17.4 billion to acquire PPD Inc., a provider of clinical and research services to the pharma and biotech industries.
“The addition of CorEvitas will further advance our capabilities to better serve our pharma and biotech customers and strengthen our value proposition,” Thermo Fisher chief executive Marc Casper said in a statement.
Audax has raised $43 billion since it was founded in 1999, according to its website. The firm’s flagship private equity fund typically invests in companies worth $125 million to $800 million, including debt. Aside from private equity, it also has private debt and strategic capital divisions.