IMS Health shareholders to vote on $4 billion buyout

Healthcare data company IMS Health will hold a special meeting Feb. 8 to vote on a $4 billion buyout offer.

On Nov. 5, the company said it would be bought by investment funds TPG Capital and CPP Investment Board in a leveraged buyout worth $22 per share, a 31 percent premium to IMS shares' closing price before the offer. Including assumed debt, the deal is valued at $5.2 billion.

IMS stockholders of record at the close of business Dec. 28 will be entitled to vote in the special meeting held at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich (Conn.).

The deal has committed debt financing from the private-equity firms and Goldman Sachs affiliates. It has already been approved by the IMS board of directors.

IMS tracks pharmaceutical prescriptions and sales, and counts some of the largest drug developers as its clients. The data is often used by Wall Street to gauge how well a specific product is selling. IMS also provides auditing services for the healthcare industry along with analysis tools.

What do you think? Post a comment on this article and share your opinion with other readers. Submit your comments to Modern Healthcare Online at [email protected]. Please be sure to include your hometown and state, along with your organization and title.