Avid Bioservices Acquired by GHO Capital Partners and Ampersand Capital Partners

Communication between the manufacturing plant and retail stores. | Image Credit: © Cagkan - © Cagkan - stock.adobe.com

Avid Bioservices, a biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), announced on Nov. 6, 2024 that it has entered into a merger agreement, valued at approximately $1.1 billion, with GHO Capital Partners and Ampersand Capital Partners.

Under the terms of the agreement, GHO and Ampersand will acquire all outstanding shares held by Avid’s stakeholders for $12.50 a share in cash, which is a 13.8% premium to the Nov. 6, 2024 closing price of $10.98 and a 21.9% premium to Avid’s 20-day volume-weighted average share price. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, approval by Avid’s stockholders, and receipt of required regulatory approvals.

“Since our founding, Avid Bioservices’ business has grown by evolving to meet our customers' broad range of development and manufacturing needs. After years of investment and expansion, now is the right time to move forward as a private company with new owners that will support our next phase,” stated Nick Green, president and CEO of Avid Bioservices, in a press release (1). “In evaluating this transaction, our [b]oard considered a range of alternatives and determined that it provides our stockholders significant, immediate, and certain cash value for their shares. Partnering with GHO Capital and Ampersand Capital Partners allows us to build on our strong foundation by accessing their significant knowledge base, network and capital to position the business for the future with our customers.”

“We are excited to announce this recommended cash acquisition of Avid,” said Alan MacKay and Mike Mortimer, managing partners of GHO, in the release. “As experienced CDMO industry investors, GHO brings deep expertise and experience to support Avid's management team going forward. Our mission at GHO is to make healthcare better, faster, and more accessible and at the heart of this is enabling efficient, high-quality manufacturing of innovative treatments. Avid exemplifies this perfectly—the [c]ompany operates in high-growth markets, producing complex biologics for leading pharmaceutical and biotech innovators at both the clinical and commercial stages. Avid’s recent investments, both in capacity and its exemplary team, position it strongly for future growth. We look forward to working with the Avid team to unlock the [c]ompany’s full potential through our established playbook of expanded offerings, talent investment, and greater geographic reach.”

“Avid has long been a trusted provider of biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing services, and we have tremendous respect for its team’s expertise, its broad spectrum of customized services, and its strong regulatory track record. We look forward to leveraging our deep industry experience, focused strategy, and collaborative approach to drive growth,” said,David Anderson, general partner ofAmpersand, in the release.

Avid offers a range of biopharmaceutical process development, current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) clinical, and commercial manufacturing services, which include CGMP clinical and commercial drug substance manufacturing, bulk packaging, release and stability testing, and regulatory submissions support. It also provides process development activities for early stage programs, such as cell line development, upstream and downstream development and optimization, analytical methods development, testing, and characterization.

Reference

1. Avid Bioservices. Avid Bioservices to be Acquired by GHO Capital Partners and Ampersand Capital Partners in $1.1 Billion Transaction. Press Release. Nov. 6, 2024.