Thermo Fisher emerges as leading bidder for Audax-backed CorEvitas

(Bloomberg) –Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has emerged as the leading bidder to buy biopharmaceutical data provider CorEvitas from Audax Group, the middle-market private equity firm, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Thermo Fisher has submitted the strongest bid in a sales process that could value CorEvitas at about $1 billion, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the details are private. An agreement could be announced within weeks, the people said. Other suitors are in the mix, nothing has been finalized and Audax could opt to hold onto the business, the people added. 

Audax has been working with advisers to explore options including a potential sale for CorEvitas and the portfolio company had drawn interest from other pharma services companies and financial sponsors, the people said. 

Representatives for Thermo Fisher and Audax declined to comment. A representative for CorEvitas didn’t respond to requests for comment. 

CorEvitas, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, operates nine patient data registries that drug companies and insurance providers use to source granular information about people suffering from various diseases as well as about the safety and effectiveness of treatments. Audax took a stake in CorEvitas, formerly called Corrona LLC, in 2019.

Thermo Fisher gets most of its revenue selling lab equipment, supplies and services that drug companies and academics use to research, discover and produce new drugs. It was also a major player in the pandemic as a producer of diagnostic test kits for Covid-19. In 2021 it paid $17.4 billion to acquire PPD Inc., a provider of clinical and research services to the pharma and biotech industries.

Audax has raised $43 billion since it was founded in 1999, according to its website. The firm’s flagship private equity fund typically invests in companies worth $125 million to $800 million, including debt. Aside from private equity, it also has private debt and strategic capital divisions.