Decentralized trials provider Science 37 has agreed to be acquired by telehealth and diagnostics company eMed in an all-cash tender offer valued at around $38 million.
Under the terms of the deal, eMed will snap up all outstanding shares of Science 37 for $5.75 apiece, a premium of about 21.3% over the company’s closing share price last Friday, according to a Jan. 29 press release.
The acquisition, which is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter, is subject to the tender of a majority of Science 37’s outstanding shares and other customary closing conditions. Once completed, Nasdaq-listed Science 37 will become a private company.
“After an extensive review of opportunities available to Science 37, we believe that eMed provides the greatest value to our stockholders, customers, patients and employees,” Science 37’s CEO David Coman said in the release. “Stockholders will receive a premium, trial sponsors will gain greater access to patients, faster enrollment, and confidence in the company’s capital position, and our employees will be able to continue to pursue the existing mission of the company.”
William Blair & Co. is acting as exclusive financial adviser to Science 37, and Thompson Hine is acting as legal adviser. Hogan Lovells is representing eMed as legal adviser.
Science 37, which saw its hybrid clinical trial approach soar during the COVID-19 pandemic, went public in 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company merger.
Last September, eMed bought most of the assets of once high-flying digital primary care provider Babylon Health, which had declared bankruptcy in the U.S. in August and then in the U.K. in September.