Latham & Watkins Advises Astorg, Nordic Capital, and Portfolio Company Clario on Divestiture of Clario’s Drug Safety Solutions to Stanley Capital Partners

The parties have announced the divestiture by Clario of its Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance Services Solutions (DSS) division to funds advised by Stanley Capital Partners LLP, the European and US-focused mid-market private equity firm. The financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Latham & Watkins LLP represented Astorg in its initial investment into eResearchTechnology (ERT), now Clario, in October 2019, resulting in a US$4.4 billion valuation of the company, and subsequent merger of ERT with Cinven portfolio company Bioclinica in December 2020, pushing the valuation to nearly US$6 billion.

Latham represents Clario, a portfolio company of Astorg and Nordic Capital, in the DSS transaction with an M&A team led by New York partners David Beller and Leah Sauter, with associates Mack Weber and Marc Klepner. Advice was also provided on tax matters by New York partner Matthew Dewitz; on intellectual property matters by New York partner Steven Betensky; and on benefits and compensation matters by Washington, D.C. partner Adam Kestenbaum.