Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman agreed to purchase contract research company Pharmaceutical Product Development Inc (PPDI.O) for $3.9 billion in cash, in one of the largest leveraged buyouts of the year. The purchase, announced Monday, is a rare win for private equity firms at a time when the European debt crisis and worries about the U.S. economy have made deal financing tough to come by, drying up private equity deal flow. Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman got around financing problems by structuring a deal that spreads out the risk between them as well as the four banks providing debt financing, according to a source familiar with the situation. Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and UBS AG (UBSN.VX)(UBS.N) are financing the deal.
Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. (PPD) is a global contract research organization providing drug discovery, development and lifecycle management services. Shares of PPDI traded higher by 25.8% or $6.62/share to $32.28. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $23.95 and as high as $33.07. On average, 1511900 shares of PPDI exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 33896592.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPMorgan Chase) is a financial holding company. Shares of JPM fell by 4.88% or $-1.47/share to $28.65. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $28.53 and as high as $48.36. On average, 44877500 shares of JPM exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 50750244.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (Goldman Sachs) is a bank holding and a financial holding company. Shares of GS fell by 4.73% or $-4.47/share to $90.08. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $91.40 and as high as $175.34. On average, 7931600 shares of GS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 7735555.
UBS AG is a client-focused financial services company that offers a combination of wealth management, asset management and investment banking services on a global and regional basis. Shares of UBS fell by 7.61% or $-0.87/share to $10.56. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $10.41 and as high as $20.08. On average, 6218650 shares of UBS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 12009456.
