Fairness opinionsPharmaceutical Services2010

inVentiv Health acquired by Thomas H. Lee Partners: fairness opinion by Goldman Sachs

Announced May 6, 2010 · Going-private · All cash · DEFM14A filed June 17, 2010
Pharmaceutical Services CRO
Enterprise value
$1.2B
EV / LTM EBITDA
7.3x
EBITDA $162M · 16% margin
EV / LTM revenue
1.18x
revenue $1.0B
DCF discount rate
9.5%–10.5%
Perpetuity growth

Deal terms

ConsiderationAll cash
Price per share$26.00
Premium51.6%
Premium basisClosing price of $17.15 on March 25, 2010, the last trading day before the Company announced it had been approached by financial investors (premium to 5/5/2010 close of $24.25 was 7.2%)
StructureGoing-private
Termination fee$27.5M
Reverse termination fee$55.0M
Go-shopNone
Outside dateNovember 19, 2010

Implied value per share by method vs. $26.00 offer

Discounted cash flow $24.65 – $34.34
Illustrative Present Value of Future Stock Price Analysis $13.82 – $19.99

Ranges as disclosed in the banker’s summary of analyses; the red line marks the per-share consideration.

Opinion of Goldman Sachs to the special committee

Delivered May 6, 2010 · Fee $11.0M ($10.0M contingent on closing)

Discounted cash flow assumptions

Discount rate9.5%–10.5%
Basisestimates of the Company's weighted average cost of capital
Terminal valuePerpetuity growth
Perpetuity growth0.0%–2.0%
Exit multiple5.0x–7.2x implied terminal value multiple of EBITDA
Projection period2H2010E-2014E
Projections usedForecasts (Company management internal financial analyses and forecasts)
Implied value per share$24.65–$34.34

Unlevered free cash flows for 2H2010 and 2011-2014 discounted to July 1, 2010 using a mid-year convention. Sensitivity analysis on post-2011 revenue growth of 2.0%-8.0%, discount rates 9.5%-10.5% and a 1.0% perpetuity growth rate produced $23.79-$32.03 per share.

Selected public companies (10)

Covance Inc. · Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. · PAREXEL International · Kendle International Inc. · WPP · Omnicom Group Inc. · Havas · Publicis Groupe · The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. · IMS Health Incorporated

MultiplePeer lowPeer medianPeer highRange appliedImplied per share
EV / 2010E EBITDA (median of CROs)8.5x
EV / 2010E EBITDA (median of Advertising)8.4x
EV / 2010E EBITDA (CSO/Strategy & Analytics - IMS)7.1x
EV / 2010E EBITDA (Company)5.6x
P / 2011E EPS (median of CROs)15.9x
P / 2011E EPS (median of Advertising)13.3x
P / 2011E EPS (CSO/Strategy & Analytics - IMS)9.3x
P / 2011E EPS (Company)10.7x
LTM EV / EBITDA 1-yr average (Company 5.4x; CROs 7.1x; Advertising ex-Havas 7.0x)
LTM EV / EBITDA 5-yr average (Company 9.5x; CROs 11.8x; Advertising ex-Havas 8.8x)
FY+2 P/E 1-yr average (Company 10.0x; CROs 13.8x; Advertising ex-Havas 15.6x)
FY+2 P/E 5-yr average (Company 14.8x; CROs 19.0x; Advertising ex-Havas 17.4x)

Other analyses

AnalysisSummaryImplied per share
Premia Paid AnalysisMedian premia for U.S. target acquisitions with aggregate consideration of $500m-$1.5b announced since 1/1/2006: 23.6% (1-day) and 26.0% (1-week); since 1/1/2008: 27.2% and 30.0%. Healthcare transactions ($500m-$1.5b): 34.8%/35.5% since 2006 and 32.0%/36.2% since 2008. Healthcare services transactions (>$150m): 24.6%/25.4% since 2006 and 32.7%/30.1% since 2008.
Implied Premia and Transaction Multiples$26.00 represented a 51.6% premium to the 3/25/2010 close of $17.15 and a 7.2% premium to the 5/5/2010 close of $24.25. At $26.00: EV/2009A EBITDA 7.8x and EV/2010E EBITDA 7.3x (Forecasts); 8.3x and 7.7x (market estimates); P/2010E EPS 17.4x and P/2011E EPS 16.1x (Forecasts); 17.7x and 16.3x (market estimates). 2009 management EBITDA adjusted for $6.4 million of one-time expenses; EBITDA did not add back stock compensation expense.
Illustrative Present Value of Future Stock Price AnalysisApplied forward P/E multiples of 9.7x to 13.7x to management EPS estimates for 2011-2014 and discounted back to July 1, 2010 at an 11.0% cost of equity.$13.82–$19.99
Illustrative Leveraged Buyout AnalysisAssumed hypothetical financial buyer purchase prices of $25.00-$27.00 per share with an assumed capital structure/blended cost of debt achievable for a healthcare LBO; based on 2014 EBITDA exit multiples of 5.5x-7.0x, implied IRRs of 12.3%-27.7%. Post-2011 revenue growth sensitivity (2.0%-8.0%) at $26.00 produced IRRs of 7.9%-26.9%; blended cost of new acquisition debt sensitivity (6.5%-8.0%) at $26.00 produced IRRs of 14.0%-25.0%.

Transaction fee of approximately $11,000,000, of which approximately $10,000,000 is contingent upon consummation of the merger; plus expense reimbursement and indemnification. Engagement letter dated March 17, 2008, as amended March 3, 2010.

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Management projections

Projection yearYear 1Year 2Year 3Year 4CAGR
Revenue$1.1B$1.1B$1.2B$1.3B6.6%
Revenue growth6.7%6.5%6.6%6.7%
EBITDA$174M$190M$206M$221M8.4%
EBITDA growth7.1%9.3%8.5%7.5%
EBITDA margin16%17%17%17%
Implied EV / EBITDA6.8x6.2x5.8x5.4x

Year-1 growth is against LTM at announcement ($1.0B revenue, $162M EBITDA); later years are year over year.

Management prepared non-public financial forecasts (the "Forecasts") for 2010E-2014E that were provided to THL, the board, the special committee and its advisors. Net revenue was projected to grow from $1,005.2 million in 2010E to $1,298.0 million in 2014E; EBITDA (excluding stock compensation expense) from $162.0 million to $221.3 million; net income from $52.2 million to $80.3 million; and EPS from $1.49 to $2.17 (THL did not receive the EPS figures). Assumptions included no new acquisitions, no impact from healthcare reform or other legislative changes, business-unit growth rates based on then-known conditions, and no significant change in cost structure. Goldman Sachs also used market/IBES estimates as a cross-check and ran sensitivity cases on post-2011 revenue growth of 2.0%-8.0%.

Process notes

Going-private LBO by Thomas H. Lee Partners. Goldman Sachs delivered a single opinion to the Special Committee (comprised solely of independent directors A. Clayton Perfall and Mark E. Jennings), not to the full board; the board acted on the Special Committee's unanimous recommendation. CEO R. Blane Walter recused himself from the board vote and was in ongoing employment/equity rollover discussions with THL (potential rollover of 50%-100% of his beneficial ownership, roughly 4.8%-9.7% of post-closing equity; a new management equity plan of approximately 9% of fully-diluted equity with about one-third to Mr. Walter). Extended competitive process: an aborted 2008 auction, then a 2010 process involving Bidder A ($20-$22), Bidder B (final $25.65), Bidder C ($25.50, withdrew), Bidder H, Bidder I (strategic, $25.33-$34.15, withdrew) and THL, which raised its bid from $25.25 to $26.00 and won on price and deal certainty despite a marketing-period delay; THL's agreement included a 6% per annum "ticking fee" during the marketing period. Total funds required approximately $1.27 billion, funded with up to $384 million of THL equity and up to $875 million of debt. THL Equity Fund VI guaranteed Parent obligations capped at $62.5 million ($55 million reverse fee plus $7.5 million expenses). Target termination fee $27.5 million plus up to $7.5 million of Parent expenses. Company had limited specific-performance rights. Six putative stockholder class actions were filed in Delaware and New Jersey; HSR early termination granted June 1, 2010. Goldman disclosed extensive prior financing work for THL portfolio companies (Nortek, ARAMARK, Nielsen, Warner Music, Clear Channel).

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