Trial by hire: KKR's clinical trial outsourcer PRA Health Sciences files for a $375 million IPO

PRA Health Sciences, a global contract research organization LBO'd by KKR, filed on Monday with the SEC to raise up to $375 million in an initial public offering. Contract research organizations (CROs) perform outsourced clinical trials for biotechnology firms. Many biotechs are flush with cash, as over 50 have gone public this year; a positive sign for companies like PRA Health.

KKR (95% pre-IPO stake) purchased PRA Health in September 2013 from Genstar for an estimated $1.3 billion. Genstar originally bought the company from Carlyle in 2001 for $95 million, took it public in 2004, and paid $800 million to take it private again in 2007. PRA Health grew rapidly after a number of acquisitions, most notably ReSearch Pharmaceutical Services in September, which KKR bought from Warburg Pincus.

The Raleigh, NC-based company, which was founded in 1982 and booked $1.1 billion in service revenue for the 12 months ended June 30, 2014, plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol PRAH. PRA Health Sciences initially filed confidentially on July 17, 2014. Jefferies, Citi, KKR, UBS Investment Bank, Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo Securities are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.