PPD shares ‘limited’ confidential info with new potential buyer

By Gareth Macdonald

- Last updated on GMT

Under offer CRO PPD has signed a confidentiality agreement with another potential buyer according to an SEC filing submitted last week.

The agreement – covered on page 29 of this filing ​ – is with one of 22 parties contacted by PPD's advisor Morgan Stanley during the 'go shop' period that began shortly after the $3.9bn (€2.8bn) takeover bid by the Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman was announced.

PPD describes the new agreement as ‘substantially similar’ to those it has with Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman and adds that it has provided the unnamed party with ‘limited’ confidential information.

However, PPD also says that, as of Thursday last week, it had not received any competing takeover offers. The firm declined to comment further when contacted by Outsourcing-pharma.com.

Few clues as to the identity of the group involved are provided in the filing. However, the document does reveal that, of the organisations approached by Morgan Stanley so far, nine are ‘strategic’ and 13 are ‘financial.’

PPD also says that: “The contacted parties include competitors of the Company that expressed interest in participating in the sale process earlier but were not invited to do so at that time.”

Muted reaction

PPD’s agreement met with muted reaction. Monringstar analyst Lauren Migliore told Outsourcing-pharma.com that: "By entering into a confidentiality agreement with another player, PPD is making itself available to other potential buyers that could potentially offer a higher price.

"We originally pegged the fair value of the company at $35 per share on a stand-alone basis prior to the deal announcement. Carlyle's $33.25 per share offer was close to our valuation of the firm. However, the company might be looking to see if it can net an even richer pricing premium before its final decision to sell itself​."

Another observer, Tim Evans at Wells Fargo Securities, set the development in the context of recent shifts in the international credit markets.

He said in a note that: “The likelihood of a higher bid is low, but probably not as low as when the deal was originally announced given some improvement in the credit markets over the past two weeks​."

The 'go shop' period during which Morgan Stanley can approach potential rivals to Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman ends on November 1.

Related news

Show more

Related products

show more

Using Define-XML to build more efficient studies

Using Define-XML to build more efficient studies

Content provided by Formedix | 14-Nov-2023 | White Paper

It is commonly thought that Define-XML is simply a dataset descriptor: a way to document what datasets look like, including the names and labels of datasets...

Overcoming rapid growth challenges with process liquid preparation

Overcoming rapid growth challenges with process liquid preparation

Content provided by Thermo Fisher Scientific - Process Liquid Preparation Services | 01-Nov-2023 | Case Study

A growing contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) was challenged with the need to quickly expand their process liquid and buffer preparation...

Why should you use clinical trial technology?

Why should you use clinical trial technology?

Content provided by Formedix | 01-Nov-2023 | White Paper

New, innovative clinical trial technology is helping to revolutionize the research landscape. COVID-19 demonstrated that clinical trials can be run much...

Related suppliers

Follow us

Products

View more

Webinars