London, 20th June 2006. HgCapital, the European sector-focused private equity investor, will realise £22 million in cash from its investment in ClinPhone plc (“ClinPhone”) following the company’s flotation on the London Stock Exchange. At the flotation price, the investment will generate a capital profit of £25.7 million, representing an IRR of 37% over 9 years. Dealings are expected to commence on 23 June 2006.
ClinPhone, which is headquartered in Nottingham, UK, is a leading specialist supplier of technology solutions to the clinical trials industry. The company was founded in 1993 by Dr. Neil Rotherham and Dr. Jonathan Engler, who saw an opportunity to improve the clinical trial process by providing centralised support services.
This is a partial realisation by HgCapital, whose clients will retain a 6.2% stake in the business. HgCapital first invested in the company in 1996. Since then, ClinPhone has developed into a global business which now employs 430 staff, supporting over 1,200 clinical trials. Its systems can be accessed in 88 countries in 77 languages and the organisation now handles over 100,000 successful clinical events per month.
This is the HgCapital’s second exit in the pharmaceuticals services sector, which includes PBR, the contract research organisation focused on managing early-phase clinical trials, which was sold yesterday (19th June 2006) for €85 million to PRA International.
HgCapital’s three most recent IPOs (Paddy Power, December 2000; Xyratex, June 2004; and Raymarine, December 2004) have significantly outperformed their relevant indices in the post-IPO period, demonstrating HgCapital’s ability to build companies capable of achieving long term growth.
Lindsay Dibden, Partner of HgCapital and Head of the Healthcare team commented:
“The successful IPO of ClinPhone is a clear endorsement of the quality of this business. We have been an investor in ClinPhone for over 9 years, during which time its profits have grown by 49%, compounded annually”.