Strata advised the shareholders of Simbec Holdings Ltd on the sale of Simbec Research Limited

Transaction Summary

Advised the shareholders of Simbec Holdings Ltd on the sale of Simbec Research Limited, a clinical research organisation, to Algorithme Pharma, based in Laval, Quebec

Transaction Highlights

• Simbec Research was sold to Canadian contract research organisation Algorithme Pharma in August 2008.  The transaction provided an exit for the management buyout team who had acquired the business from Merck in 2002

• Strata Partners structured, managed and successfully completed a cross border sale process against a backdrop of increasing economic uncertainty in the weeks before the collapse of Lehman Brothers

• The transaction delivered shareholder value expectations.  Recognising the deteriorating global economic outlook, Strata negotiated significant downside protection in favour of the vendors

• Strata was appointed by Simbec’s shareholders to replace two well known corporate finance firms who had failed to deliver a sale over the preceding 24 months despite significantly more favourable market conditions

• The transaction demonstrated Strata Partners’ extensive knowledge of the global CRO space, senior relationships with leading pharma service industry players worldwide and our first class transaction execution skills

Company Profile

• Algorithme Pharma, is a leading Canadian contract research organisation that focuses on bioequivalence and Phase I/IIa clinical trials

• Established in 1976, Simbec offers Phase I to Phase IV clinical research services in the UK and internationally, with a particular emphasis on Phase I and IIa development