Dennis Gillings, the former UNC Chapel Hill professor who founded Quintiles, took it public and then decided to buy it back, prevailed in his efforts Thursday.
The board of directors of the clinical research organization, with Gillings its chairman recused along with another director, Chester Douglass — voted unanimously to accept a buyout offer of $14.25 a share.
But the price is a high one – $3.25 more than Gillings originally proposed last October.
The takeover will cost some $1.7 billion.
At $11.25, the deal would have cost Gillings and partners $1.3 billion. The price also is $2.31 higher than what Quintiles (Nasdaq: QTRN) closed at on Thursday. The deal is expected to close later this year.
Gillings, who still owns 6 percent of Quintiles stock, formed a new venture, Pharma Services, to make his Quintile bid. To finance the deal, he secured $415.7 million in equity commitment from One Equity Partners and debt commitments of $875 million from Citicorp. Citicorp advised Pharma Services on the deal. Some $586 million in cash from Quintiles also is to be used to finance the deal, the company said in a statement.
Quintiles stock was selling at $8.31 a share when Gillings, dissatisfied with the firm’s stock value, decided to take it private once more.
Initially, Quintiles rejected the offer and solicited other proposals. Quintiles was advised by Morgan Stanley.
“I’m pleased by the board’s unanimous decision to accept Pharma Service’s offer,” Gillings said in a statement. “I have personal confidence in the future of Quintiles. While this transaction is not yet complete, and requires shareholder approval, the board’s decision is a significant step.”
Quintiles: www.quintiles.com
