Privately held U.S. cold-storage medical shipper Marken is exploring a sale that could value it at more than $1 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move illustrates how a pickup in demand for outsourced pharmaceutical services and drug shipping has reversed the fortunes of a company that previously struggled with fierce competition from other logistics groups and lower levels of research and development spending by drug makers.
Marken, which ships vaccines and blood from clinical trials around the world, is working with investment bank UBS Group AG on an auction process, the people said this week.
The company, which has 12-month earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of around $100 million, could attract interest from large logistics companies such as United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp, as well as private equity firms, the sources said.
The process is still in its early stages and no deal may be reached, the people added, asking not to be identified because the sale process is confidential.
Marken, United Parcel Service and FedEx did not respond to requests for comment. UBS declined to comment.
Marken was taken over four years ago by a consortium of lenders who helped finance the acquisition of the company in 2009 by Apax Partners LLP for 1 billion pounds ($1.32 billion). Apax lost its 600 million pound investment in the financial restructuring.
Since then, specialty pharmacies and distributors have benefited from a wave of innovative new drugs that often require complex handling, including prominent new treatments that can cure Hepatitis C.
At the same time, life sciences companies have increasingly outsourced research spending to contractors, creating more opportunities for firms like Marken.
Marken, which is based in Durham, North Carolina and Chiswick, England, has expertise in distributing products that are highly sensitive to temperature, including products that need to be stored at below minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
The move illustrates how a pickup in demand for outsourced pharmaceutical services and drug shipping has reversed the fortunes of a company that previously struggled with fierce competition from other logistics groups and lower levels of research and development spending by drug makers.
Marken, which ships vaccines and blood from clinical trials around the world, is working with investment bank UBS Group AG on an auction process, the people said this week.
The company, which has 12-month earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of around $100 million, could attract interest from large logistics companies such as United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp, as well as private equity firms, the sources said.
The process is still in its early stages and no deal may be reached, the people added, asking not to be identified because the sale process is confidential.
Marken, United Parcel Service and FedEx did not respond to requests for comment. UBS declined to comment.
Marken was taken over four years ago by a consortium of lenders who helped finance the acquisition of the company in 2009 by Apax Partners LLP for 1 billion pounds ($1.32 billion). Apax lost its 600 million pound investment in the financial restructuring.
Since then, specialty pharmacies and distributors have benefited from a wave of innovative new drugs that often require complex handling, including prominent new treatments that can cure Hepatitis C.
At the same time, life sciences companies have increasingly outsourced research spending to contractors, creating more opportunities for firms like Marken.
Marken, which is based in Durham, North Carolina and Chiswick, England, has expertise in distributing products that are highly sensitive to temperature, including products that need to be stored at below minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
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