ICON to acquire PRA Health Sciences

• The consolidation brings together two organizations with a history of robust growth and performance ready to build on this strength using the outstanding talent of both companies to deliver enhanced value to patients, customers, employees and shareholders.
• All customers will benefit from increased functional, geographic and therapeutic scale as well as expansive healthcare technology innovation.
• The combination will address the growing market need for de-centralised and hybrid trial solutions from a differentiated combination of mobile and connected health platforms, a global site network, home health services and wearables expertise.
• The combined business will be no. 1 or 2 in key clinical market segments and have formal strategic partnerships with a majority of the top 20 biopharma companies, providing a platform for growth and innovation. 
• Significant shareholder value creation expected as a result of strong industry momentum and leveraging best practice operating models, revenue, cost and tax synergies.

ICON plc, (NASDAQ: ICLR), a global provider of outsourced drug and device development and commercialisation services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, and government and public health organisations, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire PRA Health Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRAH) in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $12 billion, with the per share merger consideration consisting of $80 in cash and 0.4125 shares of ICON stock.  The consideration represents an approximately 30% premium to PRA’s closing price as of February 23rd, 2021.

The transaction brings together two high-quality, innovative and growing organisations with similar cultures and a shared focus on high quality and efficient clinical trial execution from Phase 1 to post-approval studies.

Biopharma and medical device customers of all sizes will benefit from broader service offerings and geographic footprint, deeper therapeutic expertise, expansive healthcare technology innovation, and functional talent and capabilities.  PRA’s mobile and connected health platforms and real world data and information solutions together with ICON’s Accellacare site network, home health services and wearables expertise, will be combined to deliver differentiated decentralised and hybrid trial solutions to meet growing customer needs.

The transaction is anticipated to be highly accretive delivering double-digit accretion in the first full year and growing to 20%+ thereafter, driven by growth momentum, estimated annual run-rate cost synergies of $150 million, and the combined effective tax rate decreasing to 14%, both to be realised in approximately 4 years.

Dr. Steve Cutler, Chief Executive Officer, ICON plc, said:

“The combined company will create a new paradigm for accelerating clinical research and bringing new medicines and devices to market. Both ICON and PRA have track records of robust growth and performance and we are ready to build on this unrivalled position of strength, utilising the outstanding talent in both organisations. With broader and deeper operational scale combined with innovative technology and real world data solutions, we will enable all customers to reduce their development time and cost.  We will be the leading provider of de-centralised and hybrid trial solutions through the integration of our data capabilities, health platforms and Accellacare site network.  The transaction will be highly accretive from full year 1 post-close.”

Colin Shannon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PRA Health Sciences, said:

 “I joined PRA 13 years ago to help build a company that would make a difference in the world and transform the way we developed new medicines. The way we do it now takes far too long and costs far too much. Critically ill patients can’t wait for cures. Underserved populations can’t wait for access. Every day counts. COVID-19 created a platform for change that we cannot ignore. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of mobile health technologies and healthcare intelligence tools – tools that PRA helped develop – at an unprecedented rate. The union of PRA and ICON will create an organization that has the people, data and technology to bring those cures to patients faster and more efficiently than ever before. We are thrilled to be joining with ICON, a company with a similar culture and values. I’m deeply indebted to PRA’s 19,000 talented employees who have helped us bring this vision closer to reality. We stand together now because patients can’t wait.”