Carlyle, Hellman Pay $3.9B to Take PPD Private

Two private-equity companies announced on Monday an agreement to buy medical researcher Pharmaceutical Product Development (NASDAQ:PPDI) for $3.9 billion.

Under the terms of the deal, Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman will acquire all outstanding shares of PPD for $33.25 each in cash. The transaction represents a premium of 29.6% over PPD’s closing price on Friday.

When the deal closes, slated for the fourth quarter of this year, the two private-equity firms will take PPD private. The acquisition is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals as well as other customary closing conditions.

“We look forward to helping expand and enhance PPD’s platform and broad spectrum of therapeutic expertise,” said Karen Bechtel, head of the healthcare group at Carlyle.

PPD’s board has unanimously approved the merger and recommended that its shareholders vote in favor of the agreement. PPD may solicit proposals from third parties for 30 days from the date of the merger agreement, and the private equity companies may match a superior bid.

The deal has fully committed financing, including funds from Carlyle an Hellman & Friedman, as well as external debt from Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and UBS (NYSE:UBS).