RPI’s CEO and shareholder Donna Kato was looking for an investor that could expand RPI’s footprint, provide for its 40+ employees, and offer succession support if she ever wanted to leave her current role—ensuring that the company would endure long into the future. To attract the best potential partner, we opened up the process to a broad range of buyers and financial sponsors, creating marketing materials that focused on RPI’s status as a leading regulatory player and presenting their backlog in a way that highlighted earnings visibility.

By casting a wide net during the auction period and positioning RPI’s strengths in a way that aligned with buyers’ goals, we created a competitive process that maximized value for RPI and resulted in a transaction with a well-matched partner. We also helped RPI secure a short post-LOI exclusivity period, which expedited the sale.

Regulatory Professionals, Inc. was acquired by Premier Research. As a CRO that offers clinical development services to emerging biotech and pharma companies, Premier Research not only complemented RPI’s regulatory offering but it also offered a purchase price that far exceeded our original valuation estimate for RPI.