IMS Health, Quintiles to Merge to Form $23 Billion Power House

IMS Health, Quintiles to Merge to Form $23 Billion Power House May 3, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – IMS Health Holdings, Inc. struck a $9 billion all-stock deal to acquire North Carolina-based Quintiles Transnational Holdings, Inc. to create a giant data-driven healthcare provider that will be known as Quintiles IMS Holdings, Inc.

The new company, which is expected to have a value of about $23 billion, will create one of the world’s largest portfolios of healthcare information companies with more than 50,000 employees. The combined companies will offer multiple services, including assistance with clinical trials and big data needs. The combined companies will be able to offer improved “clinical trial design, recruitment and execution in the $100 billion biopharma product development market by combining IMS Health ’s rich, global information solutions with Quintiles ’ industry-leading product development skills,” the companies said in a joint statement this morning.

“This combination addresses life-science companies’ most pressing needs: to transform the clinical development of innovative medicines, demonstrate the value of these medicines in the real world, and drive commercial success. We are bringing together two best-in-class leaders. I’m confident that together we will make our clients even more successful,” Tom Pike, chief executive officer of Quintiles said in a statement.

Ari Bousbib, CEO of IMS Health, touted the deal, saying the combination of the companies brings together leading technology and analytics with deep scientific expertise delivered on a global scale by our 50,000 immensely talented professionals in more than 100 markets.

“Our combined business will accelerate growth, yield greater operating efficiencies and provide more flexibility for future expansion,” Bousbib said in a statement.

This isn’t the first time Quintiles has struck a deal to grow. Last year Quintiles merged with Quest Diagnostics Incorporated , a medical test maker, to form the world’s second-largest global clinical trials laboratory services business.

The deal between Quintiles and IMS Health is expected to create a global “Real-World Evidence solutions platform” by combining a portfolio of anonymous patient records, technology-enabled data collection and observational research experts to address critical healthcare issues of cost, value and patient outcomes. Additionally, the combination is expected to differentiate commercial analytics and outsourcing services to “support the efficiency of life sciences’ commercial organizations.”

The merged companies are expected to maintain dual headquarters in Danbury, Conn. and Durham, N.C., they said in a statement. Bousbib will become chairman and CEO of the merged business, while Quintiles’ Pike will become vice chairman.

Ross J. Muken, an Evercore ISI analyst, told Bloomberg that the merger was a bold move.

“We view today’s merger as an intriguing combination, combining a market leading CRO with a dominant data service/technology company,” Muken said, according to Bloomberg.

The merger is expected to close in the second half of this year.
 

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