PPD shares soar 17% on sale report; PRA on block, too?

The Triangle’s life sciences industry could be headed for a major shakeup with two of the best-known companies reported to be looking for buyers.

PRA International and Pharmaceutical Product Development are said to be for sale, according to a report Sunday evening from The Wall Street Journal.

Both firms are so-called contract research organizations, or CROs, that provide services such as clinical trial operations for pharmaceutical, life science and medical device firms.

PRA is based in Raleigh and is privately held.

PPD, which trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol PPDI, is based in Wilmington. However, it does have an operation in the Triangle.

In premarket trading, shares of PPD jumped $3.35, or 12 percent, to $31.21, according to The Associated Press.

The surge continued when the markets opened with PPDI soaring more than 17 percent to a new 52-week high of $32.68.

PPD has a market value of $3.15 billion based on the closing price of its stock on Friday at $27.86. Its shares had traded as high as $32.26 and as low as $27.86 over the past year through July 15.

Wall Street analysts see potential growth in the stock with a one-year target price of $35.17.

The newspaper cited “people familiar with the matter” for the PPD report.

The Journal said that PRA, which is owned by Genstar Capital, is seeking more than $1 billion for the company.

PPD did not respond to newspaper requests for comment. PRA and Genstar representatives declined comment, the Journal said.

PPD recently spun off its drug development operations as a separate company.

North Carolina, and especially the Triangle, has become a hub for CROs as well as other life science services related firms.

Quintiles, which is based in Research Triangle park, is the world’s largest life science services firm. The company recently closed on $2.2 billion in new financing. While much of that money was to refinance existing debt, Quintiles said some $500 million had been set aside for other purposes.

Raleigh is also home to INC Research. It is owned by Avista Capital Partners and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. The private equity firm and the retirement plan bought INC last August for $600 million.

FHI, which also is based in the Triangle, recently changed its name to FHI 360 after acquiring Washington, D.C.-based AED.

To read the full Wall Street Journal report, read here.

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