Healthcare Exit Activity Maintains Strong Pulse
June 18, 2012
Specialty oral health company OraPharma, a portfolio company of Water Street Healthcare Partners, has agreed to be acquired by Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX and TSX: VRX). The transaction, which is expected to close later this month, includes approximately $312 million upfront as well as up to $114 million in potential contingent payments. Water Street Healthcare has owned OraPharma since January 2011 and seen the company achieve a high single-digit growth rate over the last 12 months.
Private equity is on track for another year of solid Healthcare exit activity. According to the PitchBook Platform, PE investors have completed 184 exits from companies in the Healthcare industry since the beginning of 2008—27 of those exits are from this year. Just as for recent years, the majority of the exit activity in 2012 to date has been composed of sales to strategic buyers with 63% of the exits so far this year being corporate acquisitions, just like the announced OraPharma deal.
