THL Partners to acquire clinical trial firm Headlands from KKR, sources say
The transaction could be announced as soon as Thursday, the sources said.
Clinical trial sites are experiencing steady business growth as pharmaceutical companies ramp up research spending, driven by new types of therapies and the growing healthcare needs of an aging population.
Private equity firms have stepped up their involvement in clinical trials, drawn by the potential to leverage technology to scale operations and consolidate a fragmented network of stand-alone sites into more integrated and valuable platforms.
THL has been active in pharma services for more than two decades, with past investments including Syneos Health, PCI Pharma Services, Adare Pharma Solutions, and Red Nucleus.
The transaction marks an exit for private equity firm KKR, which acquired Headlands in 2018 and is said to have at least doubled its investment, according to a person familiar with the matter.
KKR's exit in Headlands followed its successful $12 billion divestment of PRA Health Sciences, a clinical research organization where it delivered a sixfold return for investors.
Recent deals by private equity firms in clinical trials include BayPine's $1.5 billion acquisition of CenExel, and Genstar Capital's majority investment in Flourish Research, for an undisclosed amount.
AI is accelerating drug discovery and development, and private equity firms are betting that faster approvals of new therapies will boost demand for clinical trials.
Headlands operates more than 20 sites and has conducted over 5,000 trials in therapeutic areas including central nervous system disorders, mental health, vaccines, and metabolic diseases.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
LGBTQ bookstore to hold ‘wedding marathon' amid SCOTUS hearing on same-sex marriage
A Massachusetts bookstore is stepping in to help LGBTQ couples tie the knot as the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether to hear a case that could impact same-sex marriage rights. All She Wrote Books in Somerville, Massachusetts, announced it will host an LGBTQ 'wedding marathon' on August 30 from 1 to 5 p.m., under the banner 'Love Can't Wait Another Day.' The event will offer multiple couples the chance to marry 'without the cost or delay of a traditional wedding,' according to the shop's Instagram post. 'We can't believe it's come to this, but the clock could be ticking on LGBTQIA+ marriage rights,' the bookshop wrote online. 'We're not interested in waiting to see what happens, and neither is our community. That's why we're creating space for folks to say 'I do' ASAP.' Owner Christina Pascucci-Ciampa is rolling out in-store packages for the wedding marathon. The $500 package includes a private one-hour ceremony with a Justice of the Peace, professional photos, cupcakes, an optional toast with bubbly, a wedding gift from the store, and guidance on replicating legal documents should the right to equal marriage be overturned. Couples can bring up to 12 guests to witness their vows, or opt for a more intimate ceremony for just the two of them. 'What matters is making it official while we still can,' Pascucci-Ciampa wrote. Couples interested in participating are encouraged to reserve their spot in advance and must obtain a marriage license before the event. Information on marriage licenses in Somerville is available through the city's official resources. On July 24, former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis filed a petition with the SCOTUS, requesting it to overturn the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Davis argues that her First Amendment rights to religious freedom should shield her from personal liability in the 2015 case where she refused to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple due to her religious beliefs. In September 2023, a federal jury awarded the couple $100,000 in damages, and in December 2024, a judge added $260,000 in attorneys' fees and costs, totaling $360,000. Even if Obergefell is unlikely to be overturned, many in the LGBTQ+ community remain anxious about their rights, particularly given the SCOTUS' recent decisions to overturn Roe v. Wade and roll back affirmative action in college admissions.
The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
Nexstar CEO praises Trump administration as local TV giant announces $6.2 billion merger with rival
Nexstar, the largest owner of local television stations in the United States, announced on Tuesday that it would be acquiring rival Tegna in a $6.2 billion mega-deal that would reshape the landscape of local media as the Trump administration seems poised to loosen regulatory limits. In fact, seemingly alluding to the presumption that Donald Trump's handpicked FCC chief Brendan Carr would approve the deal despite current restrictions in place, Nexstar CEO Perry Sook heaped praise on the administration in his company's announcement of the deal. 'The initiatives being pursued by the Trump administration offer local broadcasters the opportunity to expand reach, level the playing field, and compete more effectively with the Big Tech and legacy Big Media companies that have unchecked reach and vast financial resources,' Sook said in a statement. 'We believe TEGNA represents the best option for Nexstar to act on this opportunity.' As Deadline's Dade Hayes reported, the merger 'challenges decade-old limits on control of local media' as the new company would control 265 local TV stations across 44 states and the District of Columbia, representing about 80 percent of American households. This would far exceed the current limit of 39 percent, which has been in place for the past three decades through both Democratic and Republican administrations. Making his intentions crystal clear shortly after Trump's 2024 electoral victory that he sought an end to the broadcast station ownership cap, Sook declared in November that he hoped GOP control of government would help usher in an expansion of his company. 'It's evident that the antiquated ownership caps applied to broadcasters do not reflect the reality of today's competitive media environment,' Sook said at the time. 'We believe that there is value to be created for our shareholders through further consolidation, while driving true and new benefits to the American people who want and deserve fact-based, unbiased local news.' Citing his company's upstart 'centrist' cable news channel NewsNation, Sook also appeared to offer up some 'fair-and-balanced dog whistling' by reiterating Nexstar's commitment to 'eliminating the level of activist journalism out there' while asserting that 'maybe fact-based journalism will come back into vogue.' Ahead of Tuesday's announcement, public interest group Free Press (not to be confused with Bari Weiss' similarly-named 'anti-woke' outlet) warned that Nexstar and Tegna were striking a 'devil's bargain' with the proposed merger. 'Under any previous administration, such a combination would have been unthinkable,' Free Press co-CEO Craig Aaron wrote. 'Under Donald Trump, it's just a question of how much of your independence and integrity you're willing to sacrifice to get a deal done.' Carr has been outspoken about his willingness to deregulate broadcasting ownership rules and ditch the 39 percent national cap. Before beginning FCC proceedings in June to change the rules, Carr complained about the 'arcane, artificial limits on how many TV stations any one company can own.' 'So I want to ultimately empower those local stations and, frankly, constrain some of the power of those national programmers,' he added at the time. Additionally, Nexstar – which merged with Tribune Media in 2019 and owns the majority of The CW network – has found ways to dodge Trump's anti-media lawsuits while other media conglomerates continue to be targeted. Semafor reported in April that Nexstar was dropped from a Truth Social defamation complaint when the company's digital media outlet The Hill fired a breaking news reporter who had written an aggregated story about the Trump-owned platform's earnings. A Nexstar spokesperson denied that the company fired the reporter in exchange for being dropped from the lawsuit. The merger, which Nexstar announced would take place in the second half of 2026, is still far from a done deal. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Sinclair, the nation's second-largest local TV broadcaster, has also offered to merge with Tegna. In preparation for the deal, Sinclair has offered to spin off some of its nontraditional media and cable assets – which include the Tennis Channel – in order to merge its remaining broadcast channels with Tegna. Meanwhile, local reporters are sounding the alarm over what a Nexstar-Tegna merger would mean for their industry. 'Media consolidations are rarely a good thing, and the Buffalo market is likely to be ill-served by a Nexstar-TEGNA merger,' Buffalo-based investigative reporter Jim Heaney observed. 'Competition is likely to take a hit and a downsizing of the joined operations is likely, although the stations would maintain separate newsrooms.' As 'local broadcast television is edging toward one of the biggest consolidation waves in its history,' Hayes noted that this proposed deal stands 'in sharp contrast to the punitive approach to the Paramount-Skydance merger.' Of course, in that instance, Carr spent months accusing CBS of 'news distortion' while Trump secured a $16 million settlement of a 'meritless' lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview shortly before the FCC approved the merger.
The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump tariffs leads to price rise at another major US store
Home Depot has warned customers that it may need to increase prices on some products in response to Donald Trump 's tariff strategy. CFO Richard McPhail stated that 'modest price movement' would be necessary in certain categories to mitigate 'significantly higher' import taxes on materials. Just under half of Home Depot's stock is imported, and the company has previously considered diversifying its supply base to reduce reliance on any single foreign country. The retailer's second-quarter sales were worse than expected, with customer transactions falling, although the average ticket size did increase. This follows other US companies, such as AriZona Iced Tea, also indicating potential price rises due to the administration's tariff policies.
