American specialty drug company Ikaria Inc. has received final bids this week from private equity firms American Securities LLC, GTCR LLC and Madison Dearborn Partners LLC. Ikaria is seeking to sell itself for as much as $2 billion.
Sources told Reuters on Friday that Ikaria is set to pick one of those three bidders for exclusive negotiations imminently. Investment firms BC Partners Ltd. and Onex Corp. have also participated in the auction, but have stopped pursuing Ikaria.
According to the report, Ikaria is working with investment banks Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse Group AG on the sale. Ikaria's owners include New Mountain Capital LLC, ARCH Venture Partners LP and Venrock Associates LP.
Ikaria was created in 2007 when investors led by private equity firm New Mountain merged a biotechnology company called Ikaria with INO Therapeutics. The merger was a $670 million cash-and-stock deal. INO Therapeutics is controlled by German industrial gad producer Linde AG, Reuters said.
Ikaria filed for an initial public offering in 2010 but withdrew the filing that same year, citing market conditions. Its owners have taken several dividends from the company, including a $475 million distribution last summer that Ikaria paid for by borrowing, the report said.
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