Permira Nears Deal to Acquire U.K. Drugmaker Quotient

(Bloomberg) -- Permira is nearing a deal for drugmaker Quotient Sciences that values the U.K. firm at about 600 million pounds ($745 million) including debt, people familiar with the matter said.

The private equity firm is in advanced talks with Quotient’s owner, GHO Capital, and an acquisition could be announced in the coming days, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. No final decisions have been made, they said.

A representative for Permira declined to comment. GHO Capital didn’t have an immediate comment.

Quotient helps companies develop new drugs, providing services such as formulation development, clinical trials and manufacturing. GHO acquired the company for an undisclosed amount in 2015.

Permira already has experience in the drugmaking industry after buying U.S. contract manufacturer Lyophilization Services of New England in 2017. The London-based private equity firm has invested 1.5 billion euros in the health-care space across 13 investments, according to its website.

Permira’s also exploring the sale of its health-care technology services provider Althea Group, people familiar with the matter said in May.

To contact the reporters on this story: Manuel Baigorri in Hong Kong at mbaigorri@bloomberg.net;Sarah Syed in London at ssyed35@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fion Li at fli59@bloomberg.net, ;Dinesh Nair at dnair5@bloomberg.net, Amy Thomson, Matthew Monks

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