Lyceum Capital exits Synexus in £83m secondary buyout
Lyceum Capital has exited its investment in international clinical trial research firm Synexus in an £83m secondary buyout backed by private equity investor LDC.
Since Lyceum took Synexus private from AIM in 2007 in an £18m deal, it has supported the company’s growth strategy, including increasing its global footprint, pushing into new therapy areas and making targeted add-on acquisitions.
Synexus’s clients include many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and contract research organisations, for which it recruits and treats patients in clinical trials in support of drug research. It is one of the largest international clinical research site groups in the world.
With Lyceum’s backing, the firm has expanded in the UK and internationally, growing from 13 sites at acquisition to 25 sites in eight countries today. This has been achieved through executing a targeted buy-and-build strategy, launching new sites and acquiring four businesses since 2007.
Having increased its contracted order book by more than £125m to over £140m from 2011 to 2014, Synexus has grown revenues over the same period from £17m in FY11 to £41m in FY14. EBITDA reached £7.8m in FY14, up 35% on FY12, with a further increase expected in FY15. This performance has led to Synexus being recognised by GrowthAccelerator, the UK Government’s business growth advisory service, as a ‘hyper-growth’ business.
The growth has been achieved while also investing heavily in the breadth and reach of the group. Synexus continued its domestic and international expansion with new site openings in Hexham in the UK, Bochum in Germany, Bucharest, Poznan in Poland and Sofia, as well as acquiring a site near Cape Town, South Africa. Sales from overseas operations, which were £8.5m in 2011, have now reached more than £25m.
Andrew Aylwin, board member of Synexus and partner at Lyceum Capital, said: “When we initially invested in the business in 2007, Synexus was a company with great potential in a growing market that nevertheless lacked the scale, infrastructure and operational strategy to capitalise fully on opportunities. With our backing, the business has been transformed into unquestionably one of the leading clinical trials specialists in the world.
“Synexus now has a footprint in some of the fastest-growing global healthcare markets, including South Africa and Eastern Europe, alongside a presence in more mature regions.
“These developments, supported by long-term investment in resources, infrastructure and IT, leave the company in the best possible position to consolidate its place at the forefront of clinical trial research services and deliver exceptional growth.”
The transaction is subject to competition clearance in Germany and is expected to complete in March 2015.
Dr Christophe Berthoux, CEO of Synexus, added: “Our services are critical to therapy development within some of the world’s leading pharma and biotech businesses, which provide a significant opportunity for us to take advantage of increased investment in our infrastructure and operations.
“We are grateful to Lyceum, whose knowledge and experience have helped transform the business and put us in the best possible shape for this next exciting phase of growth.”
Lyceum invested in Synexus from its second fund. The firm is currently investing from its third fund, which closed at £330m in 2013. Since inception in 1999, Lyceum has raised over £800m and acquired more than 100 companies, including buy-and-build add-ons.