BASi completes PCRS takeover, continuing deal-driven expansion

10-Dec-2019 - Last updated on 10-Dec-2019 at 12:13 GMT

(Image: Getty/Ijeab)

BASi buys PCRS, adding surgical and medical device contract services to growing portfolio.

Bioanalytical Systems, Inc. (BASi) struck a deal to buy assets from PCRS for $1.5m in cash last month to expand its toxicology business.

Now, BASi has closed the deal. The acquisition of the Colorado-based company gives BASi capacity to perform good laboratory practice (GLP) and non-GLP preclinical testing for pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

In conjunction with the closing of the deal, BASi revealed it has also paid $2.5m (€2.26m) for Pre-Clinical Research Services’ main facility and adjacent property to support further expansion.

BASi is financing the takeover, plus its expansion plans, by taking on additional debt. First Internet Bank increased its current line of credit from $3.5m to $5m and opened up a second line of credit, worth $3m, for capital expenditure.

The changes to the credit lines are on top of the $1.5m and $1.9m loans BASi took out to acquire PCRS and its property. BASi CEO Robert Leasure, Jr. sees reasons to think the bet on PCRS will pay off.

Leasure said, “Becoming one with PCRS allows us to provide broader services by further expanding our toxicology business and allowing us to offer surgical services for pharmaceutical and medical device clients.”

The takeover of PCRS is the latest in a recent flurry of acquisitions by BASi. In July 2018, BASi struck a deal to buy most of SW Chrysalis, a Missouri-based provider of services spanning drug discovery and preclinical development formerly known as Seventh Wave Laboratories.

Ten months later, BASi unveiled another deal. On that occasion, BASi bought the Smithers Avanza Toxicology Services business unit, a provider of general toxicology, vaccine safety and developmental and reproductive toxicology services working out of Maryland.

Neither takeover was expensive by the standards of some acquisitions by contract research groups. The total consideration in the Seventh Wave takeover was $9.2m (€8.3m), around 70% of which consisted of cash.

The cash portion of the Smithers takeover came in at just under $1.3m, reflecting an asset value of $3.4m, partly offset by the assumption of liabilities and issuance of common shares.

After completing the trio of acquisitions, BASi can provide clients with a broader range of services spanning areas including pharmacology, bioanalysis and scientific and regulatory consulting.