THL offers $1.1bn for inVentiv Health

Thomas H Lee Partners plans to add to its pharmaceutical and healthcare holdings with the $1.1 billion deal for inVentiv Health, a clinical development provider.

The deal would be THL’s first of the year. The firm lost out on CKE Restaurants last month when Apollo Management came in with a $694 million bid. THL offered $619 million in February.

Under the terms of the agreement, inVentiv shareholders will receive $26 in cash for each share of VTIV common stock they hold. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter. Additional terms were not disclosed.

inVentiv Health's client roster is comprised of more than 350 pharmaceutical, biotech, life sciences and healthcare companies, including all top 20 global pharmaceutical manufacturers.

There have been several healthcare deals this year. In January, Kohlberg & Company agreed to sell Critical Homecare Solutions, a company that provides medicine and nutrition to patients, to BioScrip in a deal valued at $358 million.

Asian PE firms have been especially active. Last month, AIF Capital has invested $39.5 million in Famy Care, an Indian pharmaceutical company, for an undisclosed minority stake. In March, New Silk Route, a firm with a focus on investing in South Asia, Middle East and other emerging Asian economies, invested $55 million in Nectar Lifesciences, an Indian pharmaceutical company, for a 30 percent stake.