Fairness opinionsPharmaceutical Services2011

Kendle International acquired by INC Research Holdings: fairness opinion by J.P. Morgan

Announced May 4, 2011 · One-step merger · All cash · DEFM14A filed June 3, 2011
Pharmaceutical Services CRO Sponsor: Avista Capital Partners, L.P. and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (OTPPB)
Enterprise value
$367M
EV / LTM EBITDA
9.9x
EBITDA $36.9M · 11% margin
EV / LTM revenue
1.10x
revenue $334M
DCF discount rate
11.5%–13.5%
Perpetuity growth

Deal terms

ConsiderationAll cash
Price per share$15.25
Premium53.9%
Premium basisClosing price of $9.91 per share on May 3, 2011 (last trading day before announcement)
StructureOne-step merger
Termination fee$10.0M
Reverse termination fee$25.0M
Go-shopNone
Outside date

Implied value per share by method vs. $15.25 offer

Selected companies — FV / EBITDA 2011E (Base Case, ~$37mm EBITDA) $7.65 – $12.45
Selected companies — FV / EBITDA 2011E (I/B/E/S Case, ~$33mm EBITDA) $5.80 – $10.05
Precedent transactions — TV / LTM EBITDA (LTM ended 3/31/2011 of ~$26mm) $7.95 – $13.05
Precedent transactions — TV / LTM EBITDA at RPS/Warburg Pincus multiple of 14.1x $15.60
Discounted cash flow $10.90 – $16.50

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

Opinion of J.P. Morgan to the target board

Delivered May 4, 2011 · Fee $5.0M ($4.3M contingent on closing), $0.8M on delivery of the opinion

Discounted cash flow assumptions

Discount rate11.5%–13.5%
BasisWeighted-average cost of capital of the Company, applied using mid-year convention
Terminal valuePerpetuity growth
Perpetuity growth2.5%–3.5%
Exit multiple
Projection period2011E-2020E
Projections usedComposite prepared by J.P. Morgan at the direction of Company management of various management forecasts (Base Case)
Implied value per share$10.90–$16.50

Free cash flows from March 31, 2011 through December 31, 2020; terminal value as of December 31, 2020. Firm value adjusted for net debt of ~$124 million as of 3/31/2011 and present value of federal NOLs of $49.2 million as of 12/31/2010 (37.5% tax rate); ~15 million fully diluted shares using treasury stock method.

Selected public companies (9)

Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. · ICON plc · PAREXEL International Corporation · Covance Inc. · Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. · WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. · ShangPharma Corporation · Medidata Solutions, Inc. · eResearchTechnology, Inc.

MultiplePeer lowPeer medianPeer highRange appliedImplied per share
FV / EBITDA 2011E - Late-stage CROs8.7x
FV / EBITDA 2011E - Early-stage CROs10.6x
FV / EBITDA 2011E - Other CROs9.1x
FV / EBITDA 2011E - Blended Selected Companies9.7x
FV / EBITDA 2011E (Base Case, ~$37mm EBITDA) 6.5x–8.5x $7.65–$12.45
FV / EBITDA 2011E (I/B/E/S Case, ~$33mm EBITDA) 6.5x–8.5x $5.80–$10.05

Selected precedent transactions (5)

DateTargetAcquirerMultiple
2011-01i3 (Subsidiary of Ingenix)Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.
2010-12Research Pharmaceutical ServicesWarburg Pincus LLC14.1x TV/LTM EBITDA
2010-08INC Research, LLCAvista Capital Partners, L.P., Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board
2009-02PharmaNet Development Group, Inc.JLL Partners, Inc.8.6x TV/LTM EBITDA
2010-05inVentiv Health, Inc.Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.8.4x TV/LTM EBITDA
MultipleLowMedianHighRange appliedImplied per share
TV / LTM EBITDA (LTM ended 3/31/2011 of ~$26mm)8.4x14.1x 9.5x–12.5x $7.95–$13.05
TV / LTM EBITDA at RPS/Warburg Pincus multiple of 14.1x 14.1x $15.60

Other analyses

AnalysisSummaryImplied per share
Historical Share Price AnalysisReviewed Kendle's stock price performance for periods ending May 3, 2011 on a standalone basis and versus the S&P 500 and a composite index of the selected companies. $15.25 represented a 53.9% premium to the $9.91 closing price on May 3, 2011; 64.3% premium to the $9.28 closing price on March 23, 2011 (last full trading day before news article on a potential sale); 51.1% premium to the 30-trading-day average through May 3, 2011; 40.8% premium to the 52-week average; an 11.8% discount to the 52-week high closing price; and a 94.8% premium to the 52-week low closing price. J.P. Morgan noted historical stock trading and analyst price target analyses are not valuation methodologies and were presented for informational purposes only.

Fee of 1.47% of total consideration, or approximately $5,000,000; $750,000 payable upon delivery of opinion, remainder contingent on consummation of the merger. Expense reimbursement and indemnification also provided.

3,000+ healthcare deal-level valuation multiples
The Valuation database includes financial details for more than 3,000 healthcare M&A transactions, private and public, with deal-level multiples, categorized by segment, type, and year.
See the Valuation database →

Management projections

Kendle management, which had stopped issuing public guidance in April 2009, prepared revised projected financial information provided to J.P. Morgan and Parent; the forecast provided to Parent covered only fiscal 2011, showing net revenues of $334.3 million and EBITDA of $36.9 million for the year ending December 31, 2011. For its analyses, J.P. Morgan used a "Base Case" composite prepared by J.P. Morgan at the direction of management from various management forecasts covering fiscal years 2011 through 2020 (2011E EBITDA of approximately $37 million), and an "I/B/E/S Case" based on the mean of Wall Street analyst estimates as of May 3, 2011 (2011E EBITDA of approximately $33 million).

Process notes

Single financial advisor (J.P. Morgan) to the Kendle Board. Deal price was raised from $15.00 to $15.25 per share in final negotiations on May 3-4, 2011. Parent's reverse termination fee obligation guaranteed 50/50 by Avista and OTPPB under limited guarantees. Company termination fee of $10,000,000, less up to $3,000,000 of Parent expenses previously reimbursed. J.P. Morgan disclosed prior relationships with Avista and OTPPB portfolio companies, and existing call option positions related to Kendle convertible bonds. Merger Sub was Triangle Two Acquisition Corp.

Other Pharmaceutical Services fairness opinions

All Pharmaceutical Services opinions → · J.P. Morgan opinions