Jina Ventures Advises Swiss Pharma Contract on Strategic Sale to Covance Inc
March 13 2009 - 8:22AM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW YORK, March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Jina Ventures is pleased to
announce the acquisition of clinical pharmacology and research
company, Swiss Pharma Contract (SPC) by leading contract research
organization, Covance Inc (NYSE: CVD). Jina Ventures was the
exclusive financial advisor to SPC in the transaction, which
provides Covance with the facilities and services of Basel,
Switzerland area-based SPC. "We are thrilled to have been an
integral part of a deal that we believe adds real value to a
well-established global player," said Ron Shah, Managing Partner,
Jina Ventures. "There were bids for SPC from several global
clinical research organizations, but Covance presented the most
compelling opportunity for strategic long-term growth for SPC." SPC
was seed-funded by Novartis Venture Fund in 1998, and provides
Phase I clinical trials to leading pharmaceutical clients and
biotechnology companies in Europe, the United States and Asia.
SPC's leadership includes Dr. Rolf Pokorny and Dr. Michael
Seiberling, two industry veterans in the field of Phase I clinical
trials. Jina Ventures invigorated the M&A process by using a
customized global auction, which resulted in interest from 14
leading companies, based in Europe, Asia and the U.S. As worldwide
M&A volume has declined over the last 12 months, auctions
continue to be an effective way to utilize global competitiveness
to drive deal value and strategic fit. On the heels of this
transaction, Jina Ventures is poised for major growth in 2009,
targeting the close of a second life sciences M&A transaction
by mid-year and the launch of its second fund of US$200 million
later this year. Jina's second fund is a cross border private
equity fund designed to leverage global competitiveness for its
portfolio companies in the US and India. About Jina Ventures:
Founded in 2003, Jina Ventures is a New York-based private equity
and M&A advisory firm. Over the past 6 years, Jina Ventures has
grown into a full service private equity practice, with both
principal investing and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. In
addition to New York City, Jina Ventures also has offices in
Mumbai, Tokyo, Bangkok and Singapore. More information can be found
at http://www.jinaventures.com/. DATASOURCE: Jina Ventures CONTACT:
Media, Brian Strong of The Strong Group, , +1-646-232-0651, for
Jina Ventures Web Site: http://www.jinaventures.com/
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