IMS Health Holdings and Quintiles Transnational Holdings, two firms that provide product development services, announced Tuesday that they would merge to create a technology-enabled company valued at more than $23 billion.
IMS Health shareholders will own about 51.4% of the combined company, called IMS Quintiles Holdings, while Quintiles shareholders will own the remaining minority stake. The two companies had combined 2015 revenue of $7.2 billion.
Ari Bousbib, chairman and CEO of IMS Health, will become the merged company's chairman and CEO, and Quintiles CEO Tom Pike will become vice chairman. The combined company's board will be made up 12 members, half appointed by Quintile's existing board, and the other half by the board at IMS. IMS Quintiles is expected to retain dual headquarters in Danbury, Conn., and Research Triangle Park, N.C.. IMS is based in Danbury, while Quintiles is based in Research Triangle Park.
The companies value their market opportunity at over $230 billion, including $100 billion spent on drug development by healthcare organizations. The combined company will employ over 50,000 people in over 100 countries.
“This combination addresses life-science companies' most pressing needs: to transform the clinical development of innovative medicines, demonstrate the value of these medicines in the real world and drive commercial success,” Pike said in a statement.
Bousbib said in a statement that the merged company will stand out in the contract research organization market, because of its analytics capabilities and its ability to provide real-world data to clients, such as anonymous patient records. CROs provide support to life science companies that wish to outsource their research.
The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year, pending regulatory approval and a green light by both companies' shareholders.
Quest Diagnostics was not immediately available to comment on how or whether the deal would affect Q2 Solutions, the company's joint venture with Quintiles offering laboratory services for biopharmaceutical clinical trials.