Management buys Synexus from Lyceum Capital

Synexus, a multi-national company dedicated to the recruitment and running of clinical trials at its research centres worldwide, has completed a management buyout from Lyceum Capital with the backing of LDC.

LDC is a leading private equity company in the UK mid-market and part of the Lloyds Banking Group.

Commenting on the deal, Christophe Berthoux, CEO of Synexus, said: ‘This will give us the firepower to continue expanding our international network and to broaden the number of therapy areas we offer to our pharma and CRO clients.

‘We also need to continue to invest in our infrastructure and operations so that we carry on providing clients the best solution delivering thousands of patients and providing excellent quality data.

‘We are very grateful to Lyceum. They had the business knowledge and expertise that has helped us transform the company into a professional organisation. The partnership with LDC marks the next phase in our ambitious growth plans.’

This will give us the firepower to continue expanding our international network

Synexus reported sales of US$63m and profit (EBITDA) of $12m for the financial year ending December 2014, representing a 140% increase in turnover since 2011. Further increases are expected in 2015. The company’s contracted order book currently stands at a record $216m, an increase of $193m since 2011.

The company said this significant growth has been achieved through a targeted buy-and-build strategy which has included launching new sites and acquiring four businesses since 2007.

Since being taken private in 2007 Synexus has expanded its international network from 13 to 25 dedicated research centres across eight countries. Recent expansions include new site openings in Hexham, UK through a partnership with the NHS; Bochum, Germany; Bucharest, Romania; Poznan, Poland and Sofia, Bulgaria. Synexus has also acquired a site near Cape Town in South Africa.

LDC is backing the Synexus management team to realise a clear strategy both through organic growth, using its scale and expertise to continue to take share in what is predominantly a highly fragmented market comprising around 80,000 independent GPs/investigators globally, and through the acquisition of a number of potential targets.

The deal was led by LDC Director Ged Gould, who was supported by Investment Directors Simon Braham and Chris Wright. Gould will join the board of Synexus.

Gould, Director and Co-Head of LDC in Manchester, said: 'We believe this is a particularly good sector as pharma continues to outsource its development activity. Synexus as the world leader in its field will benefit from this trend as well as the continued growth of the healthcare industry.

‘We are eager to further support the business break into new markets as it targets opportunities in the US, South America and Asia.’